#and i keep forgetting she does that and clicking on her stuff before remembering

[lokiwaffles]

OOF SO TIRED. Anyways, here they are!!! Ash and Em(ery)! They took about 14 hours to complete! These are their designs when they are about 16 years old, in 2015. Their clothes probably vary from loop to loop, but everything else usually stays the same. Click for better quality because it is detailed I think but tumblr still killed it. Also there are design notes!

LORE DUMP BELOW (this is stuff i brainstormed over the past few days hehe):

-Both grew up in the Sanctum, both are orphans. Em’s parents are alive, Ash’s are dead.

-born 1999, Em in February, Ash in July.

-Both are sorcerers. Emery is proficient in offensive magic, and Ash is better at defensive magic.

-Ash and Emery learn about the loop near the very beginning, by accident. They tell the Ancient One who learns the loop cannot be broken and decides to use a memory erasing spell on the two. Unfortunately the spell goes wrong. This leads to Ash and Em remembering every subsequent time loop.

-They figure out who exactly is causing the loop after a few dozen loops— Holly and Co.

-Cursed with the knowledge of the loop, unable to grow up or move on, Ash and Em try different methods to figure out how to release everyone. This involves anything from attempting to keep Iris and Holly away from eachother as long as possible, or outright killing either of them. They figure out after more trial and error that Holly’s death causes a reset.

-Ash performs spells frequently to make the pair forget any of the darker things they’ve done, with only a vague “we did that already, don’t do it” triggered in their minds whenever they think of doing it again.

-They pity Holly, vaguely, but resent her immensely. For obvious reasons.

Iris annoys them, but they’ve figured out long ago they can’t really change her behavior. They know of Gray and Izzy, but neither play a huge part in Holly’s deaths 75% of the time.

-They have summoned Mephisto, and have even fought him before, but he always either kills them or kinda just laughs at them and flicks them away like little bugs. They’ve tried bartering, promising their souls, pretty much everything. He rejects them, and seems to delight in their suffering.

-They are super super close, and extremely dependent on one another. They’re past any sort of knowable bond (romance, platonic, etc.), and somewhat in the realm of literally two halves of the same person. They know one another perfectly.

-They have had arguments that spanned a couple decades, where they just. Ignore each other for loops at a time. But they always make up in the end.

-Have canonically lived hundreds of thousands of years. Em knows everything there is to know about 2010s marine biology. Ash is really good at art, if he could only retain the muscle memory.

-They have also convinced the sorcerers at the sanctum/any available avengers to come help fight Mephisto a few dozen times but it never goes well. Mostly because Mephisto never shows up to any challenge.

-The two have left Earth a few hundred times but never really find it interesting in space.

-Emery is a somewhat obsessive planner, and has the strength to execute any plans- by force of will, or magical strength. She is smart and strong, and knows it. She has a problem where she often thinks she knows better than others (mostly Ash), but Ash hates it when he feels as if he’s doing something “for his own good” or being ordered around. Em often ignores other people’s advice as well, but Ash gently reminds her that she does need to listen to what other people say, and that other perspectives matter.

-Ash is more laid back, but is smart as well. His is more of a subtle intelligence, more emotionally attuned. He’s less strategic, but he can predict what people think and how they will act, even outside of the timeloop. He thinks often of other people’s perspectives, and is more lenient towards Holly’s mistake than Em is (but just by a fraction). It’s hard to make him mad, but if you do, know he has Emery’s full support behind him. He is stands up to Em’s bossiness just fine.

-that’s all for now but I have TONS more info so if you have questions, just ask!!! I’ve probably thought about it at some point. Or I will. Work is a great place to brainstorm oc stuff.

Oh and here are individual outfit lineups:

[darkspine10]

GF Fanfic - The New Journal

Amidst the Pines, Beneath the Falls (2,683 words) by darkspine10

Chapters: 3/?

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Rating: Teen

click

silence

an audible light breathing

then…

“Hello. This is Merrise Pines. The date is, uh, hold on… February 17th, year two-thousand and thirty. Dad’s just begun a new journal, and he’s been saying I should start keeping one of my own. But I hate writing. It’s so fiddly, takes me ages. Typing’s not much better. I don’t know enough words to make it sound good. So I’m recording this out loud instead. My phone has this feature called voice notes, it’s a bit like the wireless news from home in Morada, except it’s not just a live-and-done broadcast. I can listen back later, just like one of the journals.”

“Anyway, I figure this’ll be way easier than writing down my thoughts. Quicker too. Though I suppose you can’t go back and scribble out a recording… I could wipe the recording, but then I’d have to start over. With audio you can’t look back and skim at a glance either. You have to listen to my voice all the way through. On the other hand, I kinda like that. It makes it unique. I get to listen back to these notes years later and see how different I used to be. It’ll probably be super embarrassing, but Dad finds a lot of his earliest notes painful too.”

“Dad does that sometimes. He picks a journal from his special locked bookshelf and reads old passages for fun. I can see why he does it. It’s gotta be useful to have all the creature descriptions or magic spells to hand at a moment’s notice. But he can also look back on how different he used to be, if his opinions shifted over time, or to remember the times he spent with his family, or with Mom.”

“His oldest notes are… it’s like he’s trying to write like somebody else. Which I suppose he was. His Great Uncle.”

“Note to self: what makes the twins’ uncles so great anyway? My aunts are pretty ‘great’ too, but they don’t get called that. Maybe it’s like an awarded thing?”

“Anyway, Dad’s notes are in the same style as Doctor Stanford’s, very clinical, to the point. It didn’t take long for that to change. First, Aunt May would scribble in her own thoughts next to his, and then it would be like a back-and-forth conversation, instead of a usual journal. Then he loosened up. Started writing about his crush on Mom, or other personal stuff. It wasn’t only for monster cataloguing anymore. Even his entries on that stuff became ever-so slightly more his own. His handwriting gets harder to read too; Dad likes to write quickly so he doesn’t forget anything, which means it’s messy. Really messy.”

“Mom has her own journal too. It’s special, with no number on the cover. The symbol is an Earth animal, a llama. I’ve never seen a llama. Mom writes in her journal way less. I think it’s some kind of bonding thing with Dad? I know other Pines have kept journals before, and May keeps scrapbooks from time to time. Maybe that helped her settle into the family.”

“I feel like I’m getting off track a bit, talking about everyone else’s journals. This is supposed to be my first entry. I should start-” click

“Merrise Pines, February 17th, two thousand and thirty. This is my audio journal, first entry take two. Maybe I should start with who I am? None of the other journals do that. Dad likes to keep the entries light on personal detail, at least the ones focused on adventures. So my journal can be different.”

“I was born in… let me think… two thousand and nineteen, I’m pretty sure that’s right. If anyone ever listens to this then they’re in for a big shock, cause I wasn’t born on Earth. I’m- whispers -an alien!”giggling

“Uh-huh, you heard me. From a planet called Tengosa. You probably haven’t heard of it. We’re not even sure if it can be seen from Earth.”

“That’s where I met Mason and Pacifica Pines for the first time. And Mabel Pines too, but she’s less important. Sorry Aunt May. They were all travelling on a super-important quest through the multiverse and ended up on Tengosa pretty much at random. I’m really glad they did. You see, Tengosa was at war. People from where I lived were fighting other people in the West and I could never figure out why. My parents… my original parents, that is, they said… sorry, they said… I need to…”

“Mother and Father.”

“I miss you.”

“Ok, deep breath Merrise. Don’t get all weepy, it’s in the past. Ok. Mother was a soldier, and Father once told me that she was fighting for the glory of the Tengosan East Front and that I should very proud to have a mommy like her but then when she died and we got her medals back from some men in black robes he got all quiet and drank some wine and said it was all pointless.” sounds of shallow panting “Then in the morning he was back to normal. He saluted the portrait of the Prime Leader we had hanging in the hall and said we must honour Mother’s memory forever.” audible sniffing

“That was the only time I saw Father lose his composure. A few months later the bomb hit our tower and I had to honour his memory too. After that I wasn’t a kid anymore, I was a ‘Tragic Result of the War’. That’s what the news called us, ‘results’. Bad results. The aftermath nobody wanted to deal with. I hung around the abandoned districts for two weeks before I got so hungry my tummy felt like it was going to eat me from the inside out. I got good at taking from the richer folks. I was so small and scrawny that they wouldn’t see me, or if they did I could fade into the crowds at the market.”

“That worked for a while, although I was always cold at night, sleeping in the hollowed out blocks where other people were too scared to bunk down in. Too scared of more bombings. I didn’t know what would happen to me. All I thought about was the next meal, or the next steal that would get me that meal. Until one day I lifted more than I could handle. A book, with inlaid gold on the cover. I thought I could sell it for loads.”

“So I suppose I should thank Journal 7. If I hadn’t seen it and tried to steal it I never would have met Dipper Pines. I’d still be hiding out, scared and alone. Without parents.”

“Sometimes I imagine what it would be like to go back there, to Morada, to live under the Mountain and wander the winding streets. It’s been over a year now. I wonder how the war is going. May told me they met some women from ‘the peace faction’ while they were on the planet. It’s even possible they managed to end the war. I don’t know. I won’t know. Unless I go back. One day. Although I don’t know how I’d do it. The way my parents got there was using a portal, but it’s been destroyed. Maybe when I’m older they’ll rebuild it?”

“I’m not rushing to go back. I like it here, in Gravity Falls. Well, usually. Right now it’s too cold. There’s snow all over the valley. When it’s sunny I really like this place though. The green leaves are so vibrant, and the forests feel like they go on forever. There’s all sorts of creatures living around us. The Pines have spent years and years trying to find them all, but there are always more. I started school a few months ago, and that’s been… interesting. I’m still behind all the other kids. It’s not my fault I don’t know anything about history, or multiplying numbers, or how to spell ‘alliteration’. I like science class the most, cause we do experiments. I can understand those, we start from the basics and get to see how it works. So it’s not all bad. Homework sucks though. ”

“My room is really cosy. Aunt Mabel helped me paint the walls, it’s a relaxing shade of blue. I had to stop her putting a load of cutesy rabbits and rainbows all over, it was getting distracting. I’m not a total baby anymore, I don’t need all that stuff. But… Dad was cleaning last week and he messed everything up by moving some of the stuffed animals from the far side of the bed up against the wall. See, Mr Walrus’s battalion are at war with the far side. Dad caused a power imbalance. Without me present in the middle to keep the delicate state of peace, the two sides will obliterate each other in a fiery rain of honourable demise.”

“Except for my llama, who I hug real tight when I sleep, to keep her safe. She’s neutral. And my favourite. Don’t tell the others.”

“And I’ve got my family here in Gravity Falls too. Mom and Dad. And Leah, I guess. She mostly just… sits around, or cries all the time. When I first got here it was only me and Mom and Dad. That was nice. I thought that was supposed to be the deal, when I first got adopted. Then someone else came along and had to make things difficult. It’s not that I’m worried my parents will stop loving me. I… miss their attention. I sound so stupid, like a little kid. Doesn’t stop it being true though. I have to learn to live with my sister. Maybe once she starts to talk, then we might become friends.”

“Anyway, my parents. Dipper first, since I met him first. He gets his nickname from a birthmark on his forehead, in the shape of a constellation. He told me once it made him feel special, like my extra fingers make me feel… different. I think he meant it in a nice way. It reminds me that I’m not from around here. I know, this town is strange, everyone says so. I still don’t like feeling like the strangest thing to live here. I’ve got my medallion disguise. In that form nobody knows I’m an alien. I’m not sure it’s worth hiding it, but I’ll go along with it for now.”

“Dad’s job is taking photographs, sometimes of the stars at night, sometimes of the landscape, so he’s always out and about around the valley. Like I already said, he also loves to fill out his journal. This valley is the perfect place for him. Last week he told me he discovered a new species of flower which only bloomed when he wasn’t looking. He only spotted it because one of his cameras got a shot by accident. He called it a Shy-Stem, and drew a pretty diagram in Journal 10.”

rattling

“Hey, quiet down, Dee!”

rattling

a slightly mechanical sqawk

“Sorry, that was Daedalus. I should have mentioned him. My pet. I bet you can hear him in the background of my recordings. He gets ornery when I forget to feed him. His favourites are marshmallows. Dad said he’d take me to the marsh where they grow someday. Oh yeah, Dee. He’s a robot. I mean, he’s a bird. Bird robot. He used to be waaaaaaay bigger, but then he shrunk and now he behaves himself. Most of the time.”

more rattling

“See what I mean? Dad made me a special cage to keep him in, made of something that looks like bone but isn’t. Otherwise he’d set fire to my bedroom, and my laptop, and all my plushies! Not me though. I’m the only person he can land on, because I’m an alien. Anything from Earth- whoosh! Instant barbeque. It’s nice to have someone else a little bit like me around. His rock-feathers ruffle up so cutely when I tickle under his beak too.”

“Ok, onto Mom, Pacifica. She sometimes feels like two people. One half looks down at everyone, loves quality clothes and dislikes getting dirty. Then there’s the other half, who tries to always make me feel wanted, who adores listening to Dad ramble about his nerdy pursuits, and hates the idea of bossing anyone around. It’s like guilt or something. I was playing with my llama toy the other day, and I asked her if she ever played with it when she was a kid. She went really quiet at that. It’s something to do with her parents.”

“My grandparents, I suppose. I don’t know what they did, but it messed Mom up real good. I think that’s why she got onboard with adopting me so fast. With Dad it was easy, he’d seen how I was living and cared so much. But Mom doesn’t care about things like that, not with the same amount of passion. I think it was more like a calculation. She knew the only way I was going to have a good childhood was if she stepped up. Now she’s got two kids. Bet she didn’t factor that into her calculations.”

“She still loves me though. I can tell that because she hugs me. Apparently she’s not a hugger. But I can feel it when we’re close, how much she wants me to be happy. So I know she’s got a heart of gold. Although, everyone says she’s the prettiest person around, but I don’t get it. All that shiny hair takes forever to wash, and surely it gets in the way all the time? I don’t have to worry about that. Tengosans don’t have any hair. Or fingernails. I’m still not sure what those are for, although May likes to paint hers different colours.”

“Mom did get a bit snappy when she was pregnant. Ordered me and Dad around like servants for a little while, though I guess she was pretty helpless without us. Another lovely gift from my sister. She had some weird cravings too, we had so much meat in the fridge, yuck. Luckily Dad agreed that it was gross, he’s been a vegetarian since he was 16. Mom’s all better now I guess, back to her usual domineering self.”

“I still don’t know about her parents though. I don’t know if she’d tell me about them if I asked. They still live in town I think. Probably not a good idea to introduce myself to them, but maybe I can ask around, get a picture of what they were like when Mom was young. Dad would probably tell me I’m being nosy, but that’s what he always does with mysteries. He investigates, gathers clues, makes complicated web diagrams. So I can always say I was following his example.”

“My other grandparents took a little while to get used to me as well. It didn’t help that the twins never told them about magic and space stuff, so I was one more oddity to be processed. But now they’re super kind to me. They’re making up for lost time with their own kids.”

“Oh, there’s also Aunt May and Aunt Zera. They run a store in town that sells spiritual things and magic thingies, and they’re so cool to hang out with. May used to be some kind of protestor, but she’s also an artist, and she’s been all over the world. Zera’s an alien, so we can relate about a lot of weird Earth stuff. They’d be crummy parents though. May’s so forgetful, and Zera acts really laid back. I don’t think they could handle the responsibility. The two of them got married a few months back, so Zera’s officially part of the family now, just like me.”

“Ok, that’s enough for now, I’ve gone on for ages. Mom’s calling me for dinner. Maybe next time I’ll talk more about my school friends, or about an actual monster we found! Like the Kochab!”

click

[archester-creations]

Rated: G

Pairing: Solar Dawn (Sky Lark/Sun Wukong/Yang Xiao Long)

Word Count: ~2k

A/N: Day five: healing @rwbyrarepairweek ; security breach au, animatronic Sky

Not every kid likes Sky. A small portion actually hates him, though he is supposed to be a jester and not a clown and Yang had thought the clown-fear thing was mostly myth. That was before she started working for Scarlatina Entertainment as a technician. Yang rubs the back of her hand against her forehead, smearing grease. "Alright, can you move your fingers?"

Sky raises his left arm, the bare brown metal glints slightly under the lights of her workshop under the Pizzaplex, and flexes his fingers. They move without so much as a creak and he smiles. "Fixed."

"Thankfully. Now on to the second one," Yang says. "Can you turn for me?"

Sky nods and turns around to straddle the chair, draping the already fixed arm over the back. He drops his head to rest on it, too. "I still can't believe those brats managed to hurt both arms before a parent got to them."

"Neither can I." Yang clicks her tongue. If Ruby or her did that, they would've been grounded for weeks. Not that either of them would've ever done it. Even as kids they were both way into robotics.

Actually, thinking about it, if they were young enough they might have tried some pretty stupid stuff to try and see how it worked. Yang still remembers all the pens and mechanical pencils she tore apart—a few of which were Weiss' that she ended up being unable to fix. There is a knock on the wall and Yang calls whoever it is in without turning from Sky's wires.

"I heard Sky got hurt again?" Sun asks as he walks into the room.

"Yeah," Sky and Yang sigh together.

"Have you sewn his sleeves?" Sun asks.

"Yeah." Yang vaguely gestures to where they sit on the table, next to the still open sewing kit. "Can you put it on him?"

Sun nods, knowing that while she can't see it, she would know he did anyway. "So did you scare them or were they just bastards?"

"Bastards." Sky sighs. He holds his arm up so Sun can attach the sleeve to his forearm. "Preteens."

The cloth is long and flowing; it attached to under the metal at the joint between the animatronic's upper and lower arm and Sun carefully feels along the seam to reattach it. His fingers flutter against Sky's metal and wires. It doesn't hurt, but it does tickle, and while Sky tries to stop he can't help squirming.

Yang clicks her tongue. "Babe, stay still."

"Sun is tickling me," Sky giggles, the noises bubbling up.

"Sorry." Sun removes his fingers and sits on the table in a clear area. Cloth hangs loosely from the spots Sun didn't get to. "I'll finish after you're done, Yang."

"Thanks," Yang hums. "And sorry, too, I forgot how ticklish he is there."

"So did I for a few moments," Sky says. He lays his arm in his lap, the action making a hollow ting sound. It's easy to forget he's ticklish even like this. "Are you almost done?"

"About. I need to go slower with your arms, I don't want to hurt the wires so your fingers malfunction," Yang says and smiles at the panel she's messing in. "You need those to flip off Cardin."

Sky hums. "I do, so I guess I can sit here patiently for a little longer, if Sun entertains me." He glances up at his other boyfriend and Sun snorts. It's an ugly type of snort, it always is, but it also always makes Sky feel a little like he's overheating. He loves that snort.

"What do you want me to do?" Sun asks and Sky forcefully keeps himself from shrugging. Yang hums in appreciation.

"Anything. Yang's too focused to talk to me," Sky says.

"Then what if I…" Sun pulls three balls out of seemingly thin air, sliding off the table as he does, and Sky laughs. "juggle?"

"Isn't that supposed to be my thing?" Sky asks.

"You don't have a monopoly on juggling." Sun taps a finger against his beak.

"Alright." Sky rolls his eyes in mock annoyance. "Show me what you got."

"Cool." Sun smiles and it's just as sunny as his name. Sometimes Sky thinks Sun should've gotten the security jacket with the sun patches instead of the lightning bolts, but he likes that his security guard matches him. "I've been practicing this."

Sky shifts in the seat, not enough to disturb Yang but just enough to sit up. Sun throws all three balls up together and catches them before he starts truly juggling. As an animatronic, Sky is nearly an expert at juggling. It's one of the things that's just in his coding. He's literally built for agility, hand-eye-coordination, athletics. Anything a jester might need to physically entertain. Whether or not he was actually good at any of that stuff while he was human, he doesn't really remember, but he thinks he was. All that is to say, Sky loves watching this. The balls arc and spin, Sun moving with them and never missing a catch, even as he has to lean into the table for one. The movements speak of time, speak of hours, speak of passion. The way Sun smiles, bright and large and all laughter just without the sound, speaks of passion. Speaks of fun. Sometimes Sky fumbles a ball, but his body is really just code. It's wires and metal and made for errors like that to happen as statistically seldom as human error can achieve. And with Yang as the main technician– as his only technician– Sky rarely makes a physical error. Meanwhile Sun juggles without error because of practice. It is beautiful, though Sky knows neither of his human boyfriends would naturally think of it that way. But that's okay. Sky knows people see beauty in different things and he is more than okay with being the only person to look at Sun and see his forever messy hair, curls bouncing as he juggles, and know that it is beautiful.

A spark in his wires causes him to look over at Yang, who flushes and looks away from Sun and back at his arm, and Sky thinks happily that she does see it, too.

Sun juggles for a bit longer, and on the ball's last loop he throws each of them higher and ducks under them, mouth wide, and swallowing after all three falls so it looks as if he's eaten them. One of his arms is behind his back, and Sky knows it means he's simply caught them. Something he thinks is more impressive, because that means Sun caught all three without looking. With all three balls in his hand, Sun takes a bow. Since Yang has his right arm, he claps by hitting his thigh. His palm makes a soft ringing sound against the metal there, like a bell.

"I'm done," Yang says at that moment and rolls her chair away. She stands and stretches, her spine and elbows making a popping sound. Sky smiles and flexes the fingers of his right hand, rotating the wrist to make sure everything is working probably, though he knows it is. The only reason he checks is because he knows Yang wants him to.

"Thanks, Yang," Sky says.

"Anything for my girlfriend," Yang says, smiling cheekily as she adds, "Plus it's how I get a paycheck."

Sky puts a hand on his chest to gasp dramatically. "Is that all I am to you? A job?"

"No," Yang says, sudden seriousness belied by the way her lips are twitching upward again. "You're also an annoyance."

"How dare, good sir! Sun, do you see how our boyfriend treats me?" Sky bemoans, making Sun snort. If not for the weight difference, Sky would’ve leaned against Sun just to really sell it. Instead he tips backwards in the chair.

“She’s being terribly cruel,” Sun agrees and that gets Yang to break, laughter filling the room as they join in. it always feels good to be silly with them. Natural in a way that isn’t related to his job, though that is very natural, too. It’s just different. Sky waves his arm and the cloth moves in the air like a wave.

“Finish my sleeves for me?” Sky asks, batting his eyelashes. There is still humour in Sun’s smile as he takes the unattached cloth in his hands and continues to attach it to Sky’s arm while Sky tries his best to keep it still despite the tickling feeling, so he doesn’t pinch and hurt Sun’s fingers.

"You're so spoiled," Yang says, only half joking but fully fond and unrepentant as she is one of the two doing the spoiling, and bends down to kiss his forehead. Sky beams up at her.

"As I should be," he says with all the snottiness he can muster while smiling and being unintentionally tickled. It makes Yang snort. Sun purposely flutters his fingers at his wires and Sky gives a cut-off laugh, freezing up.

“Suuun,” Sky complains and Sun just smiles.

“Gimme your other arm?” Sun says. Sky sighs and holds up his other arm so Sun can connect the other sleeve.

[jmflowers]

📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? 

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

🌸 ⇢ do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

:)

📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app? 

My "New Years Resolution" for this year was to try as many different fruits and vegetables as possible that I haven't had before (or often), which I'm keeping track of in my phone notes. So, I wrote 'longan fruit' there, if we're being completely honest. (And no, I don't love those, but my new favourite fruit was the one before that: pluot.)

Writing related, the last thing I wrote in my notes was:

"Not too tight, Bea," Andrea hisses.

(And then absolutely nothing else related to that thought...)

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

I don't think Vic is as jokingly cruel or juvenile with her humour as a lot of fandom writers write her. I don't think Carina has as much patience as everyone assumes. I don't think Andy is as malicious or intentionally hurtful in her actions as some people make her out to be. I don't think Maya actually keeps clipboards and lists of things that need to get done - I think she just remembers and does it.

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis

I’m actively working on two (three?) pieces right now, so…

🔪🩸🏥🧵👩‍👩‍👦

🙎🏻‍♂️👩🏽‍❤️‍💋‍👨🏻🙎🏻‍♀️💔🫂

🏃🏼‍♀️🛫🌍📞🫂

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

If we're adhering to the fandom we share...

When he's sober, Beckett actually seems really great with kids. I think he's redeeming himself by getting the help he really needed and I'm intrigued by his backstory; I don't think he's a bad guy, just a person who was in a shitty circumstance who didn't know how to get out. He also has a really, really dry sense of humour that makes me laugh.

(I forgot about the existence of Sullivan and Theo while writing this...)

🌸 ⇢ do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them

You have opened Pandora’s box with this one.

This is Abra (like abra cadabra) and she is the best there ever was. Also she hates everyone.

This is Masqa (like masquerade). She loves everyone completely. Great motor.

This is Phantom (after The Phantom Menace). He has tops one brain cell and frequently forgets he has a tongue, so it falls out of his mouth. He’s 6 and does not know he has a name.

This is Cap (short for Cappuccino). She weighs probably 2lbs and is in charge of everyone.

I also have two identical twin, black mini Rex rabbits that look permanently shocked that you’ve managed to see them. They’re invisi-buns named Bijoux and Chouie.

And my mom has a cat named Teaca that I never take any pictures of because I'm not convinced she doesn't think I'm a peasant.

Also I work on a farm, so I am constantly surrounded by goats, sheep, a donkey, an alpaca, cows, chickens, and rabbits.

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

Not sure I have a favourite... there was a lot of really beautiful stuff that utilized moonflowers after Bly Manor, which I loved. I think for Station 19, marshcap usually hits it out of the park. Not sure they're on tumblr, though. I like their stuff because it blends cartoonism with a hint of realism and I think that's neat.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Formatting, 100%. I will get lost or fall asleep trying to read a giant wall of text. And I will get angry if dialogue doesn't get a new paragraph. I've spent way too many years studying grammar and writing to have a lot of patience for basic errors. My standards are high and I'm a bit of a bitch.

Otherwise, I'm really not here for things that are drastically out of character, cutesy baby-talk kid dialogue, or things that aren't tagged properly on AO3. I highly encourage even the most minor of investigation into how tagging works before you post.

[percontaion-points]

Clawless chapters 23 & 24

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

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Chapter 23

…and a pale pink sweater with a rolled neck. It didn’t quite cover the collar, so I added my school scarf. It was Marshall red, which I was pretty sure clashed with my sweater, but I couldn’t find anything better in my limited closet.

It’s not so much that it clashes as it is that you probably look like Valentine’s day. 

They were gathered in the breakroom of Omega House. The tables and chairs had been pushed aside and they were a blur of shining hair, bright smiles, and beautiful dresses in every shade of the pack colors. The combined chatter and laughter were almost overwhelming, and I hovered in the doorway, scanning the crowd. All the senior omegas were there, along with a smattering of betas. And there wasn’t a male in sight, if you didn’t count the squirming, yawning, yipping bundles of fur in their mothers’ arms. 

Here’s the thing about the dynamics presented IN THIS SERIES: that all omegas are made to be caretakers. 

Yet somehow in the same breath, they say that the male omegas are somehow above taking care of the babies. 

Yay internalised misogyny! 

“I think it’s best you return to your room, Omega. Den Night is a privilege that must be earned.”

Again, seeing as how much Vail doesn’t actually want to be doing literally all of this stuff… Why the fuck does she keep trying to goddamned hard? 

If it was me, I would have flopped down on my bed and gone straight to sleep. Like fuck them kids. 

“Jasper’s brothers,” Nadia whispered. “We couldn’t bear the thought of you not meeting them.”

So here’s a quick question: has this woman spent a single moment of her adult life not being pregnant? 

And then I remember that Jasper killed his father, so maybe “constantly keeping his wife barefoot and pregnant” was one of the dozens of reasons why he ended up doing it. 

The parentification of the older wolves must be fucking insane. 

 The pup in my lap gave a whimper and licked my face, his tongue as sharp as sandpaper.

Is he a dog or a cat? Dogs don’t have sandpaper tongues. 

And it wasn’t me sitting in the tangled mess of my bed, but a black wolf, with bright green eyes.

Chapter 23 summary: Later that same day, in the evening, they have their first Den Night (aka overnight babysitting of the puppies). Since Vail is new, the mothers are trying to sort of… interview Vail, trying to understand where she comes from. Especially since she was basically raised by humans. (We think.) However, Pearl comes over and she’s like “This bitch was given a collar. She also almost killed your son while she was high on wolf fire.” This makes all of the mums really angry, and they basically kick Vail out. 

She goes and mopes in her room for a while before Jasmine and Nadia show up with two puppies that they introduce as Jasper’s siblings. The narration is honestly kind of vague about if they’re actually puppies or more like human babies, or if they can shift between the two forms. As soon as Vail is handed one of the babies, she starts to see images of important stuff to the puppies. Which is exactly what you’d think would be important to somebody with a toddler-like intelligence: snacks, mummy, toys, etc. Vail expresses surprise over this, and the girls tell her that babies are only able to share thoughts like that with people that they’re related to. Which makes no sense, considering that at best, Vail would eventually end up as a sister-in-law. 

Right before the girls take the babies away, they share one last image with her: of walking into Vail’s room, but instead of seeing Vail, they see a wolf on her bed. 

Chapter 24

Because Trey Barakat was watching me, the other pup held hard against his chest. 

Forget Jasper, Trey is officially the fucking worst. Don’t kidnap a literal child simply to get what you want, dude. 

And if I didn’t return with his brother, I’d be facing a shitstorm way beyond a secret nighttime visit.

Why is somebody breaking into the school to kidnap a child somehow Vail’s problem? Like I know that literally anybody would probably rush out to save the child, but come on. These people treated her like crap, and now she’s telling the readers that she’d face punishment for something SHE WASN’T EVEN FUCKING INVOLVED WITH. 

Punish the girls actually participating in Den Night, because the baby was taken on their watch. But holy fucking shit, don’t punish Vail. 

I had no idea what security upgrades had been made to Omega House, but I had to assume there were cameras and regular patrols, at the very least.

And yet, somebody fucking broken in and kidnapped a baby? What kind of security joke is this?

I wasn’t sure if it was the claw marks in my throat, or the frantic flashes the pup was throwing at me, but as the guard’s hand hooked around my arm, something made me turn my head and bite down hard.

Chapter 24 summary: Vail is awoken in the middle of the night by one of Jasper’s baby brothers climbing in through her bedroom window. He sends her flashes of basically Trey having taken his brother, so Vail looks out the window in time to see Trey holding the other baby brother. He sees that she’s seen him, and goes into the forest. Vail knows that she’ll randomly be punished if she doesn’t get that baby back, so she goes after him. 

Now face to face with Trey, he tells her that his father died, so things are going to be different now. He tells her that his hands are kind of tied, but that he’s going to help her out soon. He reminds her that she’s tough from having grown up in The Horn, and then vanishes, leaving her with the other baby. 

Right then, the most useless security guards imaginable finally bother to show up. Probably a good fucking 10 minutes after Vail herself left the house after the stolen baby. They shove her to the ground, but Jasper’s brother is having none of it. He starts biting the guards super hard, which is so unbelievably comical. When they try to reach for Vail, she bites them too. 

[gonk-sims]

I wish people that paywalled their content would at the very least be upfront about it, but I’ve seen a few simblrs now that redirect you to like 3 different sites before landing on their patreon where everything is behind a permanent paywall

Like I get wanting compensation, especially if you’re a skilled creator (although it’d be nice if it wasn’t a reoccurring monthly payment), but trying to milk as much ad revenue as possible out of people that you mislead into thinking your content is free is batshit

[danielfuckingricciardo]

That Sense of Passion and Anger (Part 2)

Pairing - Max Verstappen x Reader

Word Count - 5.3k

Content Warning - Swearing, oral sex, unprotected sex, blood mention, daddy kink, Ginger Spice’s husband mention

Synopsis - After a passionate night with Max, the reader finds herself wondering what the fuck happened, and what the fuck would happen next.

Author’s Note - Sorry for not posting in a while, I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately, life and stuff, the usual. I have been having a lot of thoughts relating to this specific fic universe lately, maybe it’s just me and my desire to hate fuck Max big time lmaooo. In my head this fic has four parts in it’s entirety, and Daniel does feature quite heavily in the third part, I did say he would be in this one but I was wrong whoopsie! Anyway, hope you enjoy, feel free to drop me a DM or an ask or whatever if you have any suggestions for future chapters! I was thinking four parts but I could probably keep going if thats a thing people want me to do! Enjoy!

You stop to remove your heels as you enter the hotel, forever thankful for the hotel staff for allowing you to use the service entrance. Members of the press had been crowding the lobby ever since your explosive outburst against your teammate. Horner had you sworn to silence, partly to save face and also as he seemed slightly nervous of what you might say next, possibly making the situation even worse than it already was. The media loved your temper, and loved it even more when they were able to get something out of you that they could write about, framing you once again as some psychopathic woman hell-bent on destroying the sanctity of F1. You rub your sore ankles, letting out an exasperated sigh as you realise the skin there had broken, leaving a sore, bleeding wound. Fucking wonderful.

“Are you okay, Ms. (L/N)” A young woman in hotel uniform asks you, and you stand up to look at her, giving her a reassuring nod. “Yeah, thanks, the decision to wear nice shoes today came back to bite me in the ass big time.” You laugh, slinging your heels back over your left shoulder. “I hope you don’t mind, but there’s someone in your room to see you, I wouldn’t normally let someone in without the room owner’s permission, but I figured with who it is, it wouldn’t be a problem.” She says, a slightly nervous smile on her face. “Oh, don’t worry about it, it’s fine, thanks for letting me know. I’m heading back up there anyway, need to rest my poor aching feet. Fucking louboutins.” You say, rolling your eyes dramatically and laughing slightly. You assumed it was Daniel, waiting to hear about the new asshole that Horner had verbally torn for you in today’s meeting. “I hate heels, they’re the worst. But they look good though, and you look amazing today.” The woman says, and you can’t help but smile at her. In preparation for your verbal beatdown by your boss, you’d made sure to dress nicely, solely for the purpose of making it look like you were okay - the picture of a strong woman who refuses to take any bullshit. Little did he know of what had happened that night, scenes which you were trying to push out of your mind and forget. “Thanks. I do try my best to dress up nicely, I spend most of my time in fireproofs and team shirts, they’re not the sexiest of garments.” You say, and the woman chuckles. “I’ll let you get on your way to meet your guest, good to meet you.” She says, and begins to hurry back down the service corridor, before stopping and turning back to meet you again. “Thought you could maybe do with these?” She says, grabbing two plasters from her pocket and passing them to you. “I carry a few of these things around for heel-related emergencies.” “Thank you so much!” You say, taking the plasters and stashing them in the jacket pocket of your suit. The woman scurries away, the sound of her own heels clicking away on the tiled floor. Why as a society we encourage women to wear shoes which make them bleed you could never understand, and then you remember the woman’s previous words. They do look good.

You get out of the lift on your floor, one that luckily had been reserved solely for drivers, so you wouldn’t have to worry about being accosted by some sleazy journalist. You swipe your key in the door and open it, “I assume you’re here to gossip about all the shit that went down with Horner today, right?” You shout around the corner, throwing your heels down by the wall and walking across the room to the bed. You stop at the foot of the bed as you look up, realising that the person sat against your pillows wasn’t Daniel at all - it was Max. “Oh” You utter, your mouth dropping open as if to say something, but your head is suddenly empty of things to say. “I am curious about what happened today, but that’s now why I’m here.” He says, a small smirk appearing on his lips. “Fuck, I thought you were Daniel. What are you doing here?” You ask, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. You assumed that him leaving early in the morning before you awoke meant he didn’t want to talk to you again. That you’d be keeping your distance and only engaging when necessary for work.

“I needed to talk to you.” He says, adjusting his position on the bed to one less casual, less open. “Well, whatever you needed to say you could have said to me this morning. Oh, wait, you couldn’t could you because you fucked off before I even woke up. How long did you even stay? Did you just wait for me to fall asleep and then fuck off, is that the way you treat women?” You say, your tone sharp and voice louder than it probably should have been. “I stayed as long as I could, and I apologised for leaving. And, for the record, you can’t fucking say anything. I left you my number, asked to meet for lunch and you ghosted me. Not even a ‘no, I’m busy’ or a ‘I don’t want to see you’, that would have been enough.” Max shouts back, leaning forwards from his reclined position, gesturing angrily. “What fucking drugs are you on? You didn’t apologise, and you didn’t leave me your number. Unless you somehow hacked into my phone while I was sleeping which is fucking creepy.” You say, shuddering dramatically at your las statement. “Didn’t you read my note?” He asks, a look of confusion on his face. “What fucking note?” You say, mirroring his confusion. “The one I left for you on the bed before I left? Did you really think I’d fuck you and then sneak off like that?” “I don’t know what the fuck to think, Max, we hate each other, remember?” You say, sitting down on the bed, turning your back to him. You cradle your tender ankles, wiping away a trickle of blood that had begin to dribble down your foot. He crawls forward on the bed, sitting next to you, just enough distance between the two of you so that your shoulders don’t touch. His eyes connect with the metal trash can, empty, except for one screwed up piece of paper. He reaches forward and grabs it, unfolding the crumpled material and holding it out to you. “You threw it away without even reading it?” He asks, turning to you. “I didn’t know it was here Max, I swear, the housekeepers must have found it and thrown it away or something. Fuck.” You say, resting your head in your hands. “You don’t have to lie to me.” He says “Why the fuck would I lie? What good would that do me?” You say back, your anger still present in your voice no matter how hard you tried to disguise it. The whole day you’d found yourself wondering why he left, what you did wrong. Despite your hatred for the man, the sex was amazing, and you had been hoping to fit in a second round before leaving in the morning for your date with Horner and the gang. “I thought you might be lying to protect my feelings.” He says, and you scoff. “Why on earth would I want to do that? The only one who needs protecting here is me, from your dangerous fucking driving.” You laugh. “And from those shoes of yours.” He mumbles, and you can’t help but smile in response. “They’re a fucking nightmare.” You say, grabbing the plasters the woman from the hotel had given you from your jacket pocket. You fumble with the wrapper, unable to find the opening to the paper packaging. “Fuck” you sigh, throwing your head back and taking a deep breath. ‘Just count to ten, keep calm’ you mentally repeat to yourself. You are snapped out of your trance by the feeling of Max’s hand in yours, as he removes the plaster from your hand and opens it. He gestures for you to place your leg in his lap and he does so, removing the paper and gently sticking it over your injury. In that moment you make eye contact with him, just for a second, and immediately relax into his touch as he smooths the sticky material down onto your foot, careful not to catch the wound and cause you any pain. “Thanks.” You say, offering him a small smile. “Anytime.” He responds, mirroring your expression.

The two of you sit in silence for a while, not sure what to say, until you realise that your leg is still positioned on top of Max’s lap, his hand resting on your ankle. You jump up and smooth down your pencil skirt, trying to avoid showing the awkwardness you felt inside. It wasn’t working. “Since you stood me up for lunch, I think it’s only fair you take me to dinner.” He says, and you scoff. “I don’t think you can say I stood you up when I had no idea you’d even asked me. However, I do feel slightly guilty at the thought of you, sat alone at a dinner table waiting for me, only to never show. It’s equal parts tragic and fucking hilarious.” You say, cracking a smile, “So yeah, it’s only fair. But we’re splitting the bill.” You say, walking over to the bathroom door and going inside. “For sure, unless you order something expensive like steak covered in gold, in which case we’re paying for what we eat.” He says, and you stick your head out of the door to roll your eyes at him. “Cheapskate.” You grin, “Daddy’s money’s not running out, is it?” You say, sticking out your bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. “Daddy wouldn’t be very happy about me spending his money on you.” He responds, and you laugh. “Oh, because the big scary lady threatened to beat up his special little guy?” You mock, and he laughs at you. “Something like that.” He says, standing from the bed. “I need to shower the Horner off me after today, meet me at the service entrance at eight?” You say, before disappearing once again behind the door and locking it. “It’s a date.” He says, as you hear him walk past the bathroom and opening the door to your room. “Oh, Daddy really wouldn’t like you saying that.” You laugh, and you hear Max tut behind the door. He leaves, shutting the door to your room quietly behind him.

7:30 rolls around quickly, and you find yourself looking through the sparsely populated wardrobe to find something to wear. Frequently hopping from one country to the next means you don’t exactly have your best items with you, and it being the end of the weekend means almost everything you could wear had already been worn. It was either the two-day-old Red Bull polo and jeans, or the dress you had brought with you just in case you had ended up attending some fancy event. Figuring it would be impolite to show up in team gear to a dinner, even when it was just some meeting with Max to clear the air between the two of you, you grab the dress from its hanger. You caress the black silk between your fingers, the soft material like a warm and gentle kiss to your skin. Daniel had been the one to convince you to buy it in the first place, as part of his plan to ‘sex you up’ for the cameras as your usual wardrobe was hardly the picture of glamour - mainly Red Bull shirts, band shirts and the occasional sundress when the weather required it. It felt a little too sexy for just a dinner with a friend, or rival, but it was all you had. So you discarded your dressing gown and slipped on the garment, the cold fabric warming up at the touch of your skin. You eye your collection of shoes by the door, consisting of a pair of tatty old Vans and your Louboutins you had discarded earlier. Sitting on the bed to consider your options, you rub your sore heel, the plaster that Max had so carefully applied still adhered to your skin. Fuck it, your ankle is already sore, how much worse can it get, right? You grab the heels and put them on, standing in front of the mirror to take a good look at yourself. It was rare you ever saw yourself dressed like this. Dates were few and far between with you constantly travelling around the world, and you always felt out of place when out with the other drivers, scared that something would kick off between you and Max and ruin the night for everyone else. And yet, here you were, wearing your best little black dress to go and meet your sworn enemy. The same enemy you had fucked the night before.

You walked down the service corridor, your heels clicking against the tiles and announcing your presence to the man stood at the end of it. “You’re late.” Max says, and you sigh dramatically at him. “I believe the kids call it being fashionably late,” you say, “not that you’d know what fashionably means.” You add, looking him up and down. Clearly also strapped for outfit options, he had chosen to wear a white shirt with black suit pants. His top button was undone and his sleeves were rolled to the elbows, revealing his forearms that were crossed around his chest. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asks, and you laugh. “Well, you’re no Daniel when it comes to fashion,” you pause for a second, “Or Lewis” you chuckle, and he playfully punches you in the arm. “I like to keep it simple.” He responds, and you laugh at his remark. “Whatever you say, Verstappen, now lets go, I’m looking forward to my steak covered in gold.” You say as you push the door open, the cold air nipping at your bare legs immediately. You cross your arms over your body to keep the heat in as you step outside, and Max follows you. “Maybe you should have finished getting dressed, it’s cold out.” He says, and you take the opportunity to slap him back. “Don’t you dare try and slut shame me, Max Verstappen.” You laugh, and he laughs back as you both walk over to the black car parked on the street before you.

The restaurant owners, clearly used to having high-profile cliantele, had seated the two of you in a secluded spot, away from the prying eyes of the public. God knows, all you had to do was meet up with another of the drivers one-on-one to hang out and the press were circulating rumours about you hooking up with them. It had taken a whole six months and several fake dates with random men for you and Daniel to finally shut the media up about the two of you dating. According to them, men and women were incapable of being friends without shagging each other. You hoped that if you had been spotted tonight with Max, they’d assume it was all a publicity stunt arranged by Horner to try and convince people you weren’t about to hospitalise your teammate and that you were actually good friends. It was far more believable than the truth, that you were actually there to work out what had happened the previous night.

“I like your dress, it suits you.” Max says, breaking the silence that had hung between the two of you since getting in the car. You hadn’t been exactly sure what to say, so found it easier to keep quiet while considering just how you wanted to bring up what had happened between the two of you. “What? This old thing? I wear it every time I go for dinner with a guy I threatened to knock out and then shagged.” You say, biting your lip to shut yourself up and avoid saying anything else ridiculous. “Happen often?” He asks, pouring himself a glass of water before filling yours. “Once or twice, yeah.” You chuckle, grabbing the glass and taking a sip. You both sit in silence for a moment, before the waiter shows up, handing each of you a menu. You open it up and immediately notice the lack of prices that should be accompanying each fancy sounding French dish. “There are no prices on here.” You say, your eyes lingering on a certain item as you try to decipher the description written in French. “It’s a ladies menu, or whatever non-sexist name they call it nowadays. It’s so the person who isn’t paying doesn’t try to order the least expensive thing on the menu to be courteous and actually orders what they want.” Max says, not looking up from his own menu. “I thought we were splitting the bill?” You ask, glancing up at him. “Don’t worry, Daddy’s paying.” He says, winking at you. “Ugh, the press would have a field day if they heard you say that.” You chuckle, looking down at the menu to avoid his gaze. “How so?” He asks, and you look up at him, an eyebrow raised. “Could be very easily taken out of context and sound somewhat…” you pause, looking for the right word, “kinky,” you settle for, immediately regretting vocalising your perverted thought process as Max looks back at you with a bewildered look on his face. “I suppose it does.” He says, pausing for a second, “Now, be a good girl for Daddy and pick what you want, hm?” He responds, and you shake your head at him, suppressing a laugh. “Fuck you.” Is all you manage to say as you look down at the menu once again, hyper-aware of the blush now forming on your cheeks.

Your food arrives, and the sommelier pours you a suitable wine to match your dish. You swirl the beverage around in the glass before taking a sip - it tastes exactly like every other wine you’d ever tasted, so you nod your head and he walks away, leaving you and Max alone once again. “I feel like we need to address the elephant in the room before I even think about enjoying what I assume is a very expensive and fancy meal.” You say, taking a larger sip from your glass. “What elephant would that be?” Max questions, and you roll your eyes. “Don’t play dumb with me Verstappen, you know exactly what I mean.” You hiss, leaning in slightly, your voice no louder than a whisper, careful to make sure no one can hear you. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He says, smirking. He knew exactly what you meant, the smug bastard. “So you don’t recall how I fucked you last night then, how fucking hot for me you were when I called you names, when I hurt you, when I left that mark on your neck?” You whisper across the table, pointing to the bruise peeking out above his collar. Max shifts in his seat, his hands immediately darting to his neck to cover the mark with the material of his shirt. “Oh, that” He says rather flippantly, tearing off a chunk of bread from his side plate and throwing it in his mouth. “It can’t happen again.” You say, leaning back in your seat and taking another sip of wine. He looks up at you, his eyes wide. “Why not?” He questions, reaching forward for his own glass and taking a sip. “Because it’s wrong.” You say, your grip on your glass tightening. “But did it feel wrong?” He asks, and you cross your legs tightly beneath the table. You knew that fucking him again would be a bad idea. It would only confuse the two of you and make things even more awkward in the paddock, and yet, part of you ached to feel him again. To feel his hands wrapped tightly around your neck, his hot body pressed against yours, his cock deep inside you. “It felt…good.” You say, biting your lip slightly to avoid smirking as the events of the previous night fill your mind. “So why stop?” He says, and you chew harder on your bottom lip, trying to think of a response. “There is such as thing as too much of a good thing.” You say, completely contradicting your own words as your leg reaches out beneath the table, brushing against Max’s. “Not in my experience” He utters, sipping his wine. “So what? We keep doing this, and then eventually we get caught, how do we explain it to the press, to our families, to Horner?” “Easy, we don’t get caught. Come on, (Y/N), you’re a smart girl, with the way we are around everyone else, no one will suspect a thing.” He says, a smirk appearing on his lips. “So what, are we gonna be enemies with benefits?” You say, your leg travelling higher so your shoe rests on Max’s knee. “I like the sound of that.” He responds, grabbing his fork to start eating the meal before him. You remove your leg from his and he seems almost upset at the loss of contact. “So, we should enjoy our meals, and then maybe you could join me in my room for some of those benefits afterwards?” You question, raising your eyebrow at him. “Sounds good.” He responds, and you nod, taking your fork and tucking in to the plate of food before you.

Upon arriving back at the hotel, you immediately remove your heels, opting to once again walk barefooted through the service corridor. You sling your heels over your shoulder, but are relieved of your carrying duties as Max takes them from you. “If you keep doing things like that, we might have to forget the enemies part of this whole arrangement.” You say, turning back to the man walking behind you. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back to pissing you off tomorrow morning.” He says, and you chuckle. “I hope so.” “Actually, I’m going to try even harder to make you mad. You’re sexy when you’re angry.” He smirks. “Oh, fuck off.” You respond, pushing him into the wall. “I’m not gonna let you get away with that.” He says, turning to face you. You look around, making sure the corridor is empty, before pushing your body against his, his back pressed firmly into the wall. “Why? What’re you going to do to me?” You ask, your lips parted and just millimetres away from Max’s. “The sooner we get upstairs, the sooner you’ll find out.” He speaks against your lips. It takes all your self control to pull away, the desire to connect your lips with his almost winning and your fear of getting caught almost forgotten. Had you consumed another glass or two of wine that night, you would have even entertained the thought of fucking him right there and then, but you stopped yourself, pulling away and continuing down the corridor.

As soon as your door was unlocked and opened, Max had you pushed against the wall, your lips connected with his as you had wanted just a few moments earlier. It was full of passion and lust, teeth and tongues, as his hands explored your body, making their way down to the hem of your dress that grazed the top of your knees. “Fuck (Y/N) when I saw you in that dress tonight, all I could think about was how much I wanted to tear it off of you” He says, pulling away from you but pressing his forehead to your own. “Stop talking about it and fucking do it.” You hiss, tangling your hands in his hair. He reaches around your body for the zip and effortlessly pulls it down, causing the luxurious material to fall off of your form and land on the floor by your feet. His eyes travel up and down your body, admiring every curve and shape adorned by your black underwear. “Did you pick these out for me?” He asks, his hand caressing your breast through your bra, working it’s way down to your panties, his fingers ghosting your core through the lace. “Would it make you mad if I said they were the only clean ones I had left?” You question, raising an eyebrow at him. “Fuck you” He mutters, before connecting his lips with your neck, sucking hard against your soft skin in a place you were sure you wouldn’t be able to cover tomorrow - but you didn’t care. ‘If you’re lucky, you might.” You say, echoing his words from the previous night that had driven yout crazy. He looks up at you, an animalistic look of desire in his eyes, as he grabs you by the ass and drags you over to the bed, throwing you down onto the soft duvet. “What did I say earlier about being a good girl, huh?” He questions as he unfastens his belt, discarding the garment onto the floor. “Don’t worry, Daddy, I’ll be good.” You say, sitting forward to relieve his hands of their duties, making short work of the fastenings of his suit pants, discarding them and his underwear into a pile on the floor. You grab his rock hard cock with your fingers, gently caressing it from base to tip. “You drive me fucking crazy, you know that?” He says, his hips bucking into your touch as he seeks for you to touch more of him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” You say, before leaning forward, taking the tip of his cock into your mouth. He groans at the contact, your tongue licking the tip and your lips pressed tightly around the shaft. You push forwards, and he throws his head back in pleasure as his cock fills your mouth, a string of profanities leaving his lips from the sensation of you. His large erection fills your mouth, grazing the back of your throat, you sit like that for a moment, your tongue touching every part of him it can reach, before you begin to suck him off. Tears fill you eyes as you try and suppress gags, clenching your thighs together on the bed to relieve the growing desire for contact at your core. Max tangles his hands in your hair to push himself deeper into you, fucking your mouth hard for a few stokes before pulling you off of him. You lick the tip of his cock to remove the string of saliva that still connected the two of you and look up at him through your eyelashes, a hungry look in his eyes.

“It’s your turn, babygirl.” He says, pushing you back on the bed, grabbing your thighs tightly and pulling them apart. He kneels before you, pressing his face between your legs, his nose grazing your clit as he begins to eat you out, using his tongue to fuck you, tasting you with every movement. A combination of profanity and his name leak from your mouth as he pleasures you, sending a sensation through your body like you’d never felt before. “Fuck, Max, I need you inside me. I want to feel you.” You groan, your words breathy and strained as his tongue plays with your clit. “I want you to cum for me, babygirl.” He speaks into you, the vibrations of his voice against your wet pussy almost too much to bear. “Yes Daddy” You moan, your hands gripping the bedsheets, knuckles white. He sucks your clit, and the pressure of his tongue against you sends you over the edge, your hips bucking towards him pushing his face deeper into you. You let out a pornographic moan, and Max can’t help but laugh, the sensation of which makes your orgasm even more pleasurable as he does so. “You’re being so good for me, babygirl.” He says, as he sits back, allowing you to catch your breath as your moment of ecstasy ends.

Max stands and looks down at you on the bed, admiring the blissed out post-orgasm expression on your face. You can’t help but look up at him, his cheeks flushed and face glistening with a combination of sweat and your juices. A smug smile lingered on his lips, obviously proud of his work to make you cum so easily. While your experience in the bedroom wasn’t as extensive as people had speculated, your past experiences had left you looking for more in a sexual partner. Despite your hatred for him on the track, Max had proved to be exactly what you needed. Most men you’d been with before hadn’t even managed to make you cum once, leaving you to fake it to save the poor idiot’s ego, or just tell him to fuck off when you were feeling particularly frustrated. Before you, stood a man who had just given you one of the best orgasms of your life, and was preparing to give you another. The thing that pissed you off the most, was that of all people to make you feel this way, it had to be Max fucking Verstappen. In this moment, however, it didn’t matter. You wanted him. More of him. All of him.

“You’re good at that.” You say between breaths, and Max chuckles. “You want me to show you what else I’m good at?” He questions, a cocky smile on his face. “Oh, I already know.” You say, laughing slightly. You sit forward to grab Max’s shoulders, causing him to collapse on top of you. You wrap your arms around his muscular back, pulling him into you, his cock pressing against your entrance. “Where did my good girl go?” He questions and you pull his face closer to yours, your mouth pressed against his ear. “I got bored of her, now I want you to fuck me.” You whisper, your tongue caressing his ear lobe gently. Max places his hands either side of you on the bed, gaining his balance and lining himself up with your throbbing cunt. You could already feel the anticipation building within you, with every second that passes your ache for him to be inside you increasing exponentially. He carefully pushes himself into you, the sensation of him filling you up elicits a filthy moan to fall from your lips. Max begins to fuck into you, your nails digging deeper into his back with every thrust of his hips. He keeps his eyes fixed on yours with every motion, an expression of pleasure shared between the two of you as he leans forward to kiss your lips sloppily. Any voyeur looking in on this interaction could be fooled into thinking that the two of you were making love as any other couple would, but the truth of it all was you weren’t a couple. Enemies-with-benefits making hate with each other, expressing their extreme emotions in the most human way possible.

It wasn’t long until you found yourself close to your second orgasm of the night, as Max’s movements became sloppier as he thrust into you. “Fuck, (Y/N), I’m close” He says through heavy breaths. “Me too” You respond, your fingers clawing at the man’s back to hold him close. He is the first to fall over the edge, his hot seed filling you up inside. He continues to thrust into you through his orgasm, his movements erratic as his eyes roll back in pleasure. The sensation of his undoing begins your own, as your walls clench around him and your grip on his shoulders weakens in pleasure. The room is filled with the sound of heavy moans, the sound of both your names falling from the other’s lips, and the sound of sex. Max collapses onto you as he finishes, laying there, your arms still wrapped around him. He pulls himself off of you and lies next to you, freeing the sheets from below the two of you and covering your bare bodies. He wraps his arm around you, pulling you close to him. “Stay with me tonight?” You ask, gazing into his bright eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.” He responds, gently stroking your hip with his thumb.

Tag List (hope these all work lol): @vinvantae @ujisworld @heyitskay-21 @starjane312

[cjsinkythoughts]

Rocks, Shoulders, and Ears

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Reader

Word Count: 3501

Warnings: !FATWS SPOILERS!, Cursing, Major Angst in this one, guys, Loads of Feels (sorry not sorry), John Walker being a douche (I really don’t like the guy)

A/N: I’m SO SORRY! I promise I was planning on it being shorter, but I went a little overkill with the angst! There’s just so many feelings and not enough space in my heart and soul, so I had to pour them out here! You get to see more of Reader and Sam’s relationship in this one and there’s major Bucky Feels towards the end (in my defense, this is based on the Couples Therapy half of the episode).

I’m really hoping we get to see Bucky go to Louisiana next episode! I’m holding out for it! I have a few ideas that include Sarah, but I need the episode! Ugh! Now we have to wait a whole ‘nother week! I really shouldn’t write three chapters on one episode in one day. I just couldn’t help myself!

Anyways! Please enjoy this part and thank you so much for all your support! Seriously, it’s meant so much to me, especially after the week I’ve had! If you haven’t checked out the previous parts, my FATWS Series Masterlist is HERE, so please go read those first. Like always, this isn’t beta’d so please excuse any mistakes! Enjoy, babes!

!SPOILERS UNDER CUT!

The last thing you remembered was falling asleep in Bucky’s arms after walking a few miles. And a hospital in DC wasn’t exactly what you preferred waking up to, but it’s what happened. Turned out, not only was your shoulder dislocated and your thigh was strained, but you had a mild concussion. Your arm was in a sling and your palm, which you had completely forgotten about after you wrapped it while on Bucky’s back, was wrapped properly. Luckily, your thigh wasn’t too bad, but they wanted to put you on crutches, which you refused immediately.

You had to get out of that building. You had no idea where the guys went, which was weird because you were sure they’d never leave you alone. Especially in a hospital.

You quickly snuck your way through the halls after grabbing your bag which - thank God - was left on the seat besides your bed and changing into an extra pair of clothes. 

You tried calling Bucky’s phone, the one he had specifically for you, which he always always answered. He even made an excuse to go to the bathroom once when you accidentally called in the middle of a therapy session. Nothing. You called the number four times before trying Sam’s phone.

It clicked on the first try.

“Hey. Listen, sorry for leaving-”

“Where the hell are you?”

You heard him sigh. “I was just about to explain, so hang on a second there. You weren’t waking up, probably because that concussion you forgot to mention to us-”

“In my defense, I didn’t know.”

“Sure you didn’t.” You rolled your eyes, throwing your free hand up, exasperated. “Anyways, Bucky wanted me to meet someone, we’ll talk about that when you inevitably get here, put we had a bit of trouble and Bucky was arrested-”

“What?!”

“Chill your pants, Y/L/N. Just listen. We’re in Baltimore. I’ll text you the address. Get here soon and I’ll explain the whole thing. We’ve been here for a couple hours, but there’s people on their way and we’re getting everything situated right now.”

“Okay. Fine. But you’re in trouble.”

“Don’t I know it, babe. Now hurry your cute little ass here. We’ve got stuff to talk about.”

*****************

The ride from DC to Baltimore is usually an hour or so, but you’ve got resources, especially in the nation’s capital, and riding the bike you got, being able to go way over the speed limit? You got there in half the time. Being an Avenger really does have its perks.

The moment you got there, you hopped off the bike, not even bothering to turn it off, and stormed into the precinct. You headed straight over to the desk, but a pair of hands caught you by your uninjured arm before you could make a scene.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Sam spoke softly, squeezing your bicep gently. “He’s okay, alright?”

“Why is he-”

“He missed his court-mandated therapy session.” Sam informed you, pulling you over to where he had been sitting previously. “There was a warrant out for his arrest. They had to bring him in, but it’s fine. His therapist’s been contacted. She should be here any minute to get him out.”

Your head fell back at his words. His therapy. How could you forget? You let Bucky complain to you about it and played along sometimes, but you really did think it was good for him and you tried supporting him. Yet you made him miss it and now he’s in trouble.

“Hey. Y/N. Look at me.” You found Sam’s worried eyes, his hand coming up to hold the side of your neck. “He’s okay. He’ll be out in just a bit. It’s fine.”

“It’s my fault, Sam.”

“No. It’s not. He’s a grown ass man who made the decision to skip.”

You shook your head, holding his wrist for something to anchor you down. “No, Sammy. I brought him along. I should’ve been more responsible-”

“I know we’ve joked around about you being in charge and stuff, but…you know it’s not all on your shoulders, right?” Sam tilted his head slightly, eyebrow pinched in confusion making his eyes narrow. 

You turned your head, not wanting to look at him. You didn’t need another set of deep eyes to fall into. “Sammy…I promised him I’d look after you.”

“I know. And that’s fine. But looking after us - looking after him - doesn’t mean you have to be there to hold his hand and take the fall for him. He’s not a child. Hell, he’s a hundred years old. Tell me you understand that.”

Licking your lips, you closed your eyes and shook your head again. “I-I can’t-”

“Is that why you’re obsessed with finding Wanda?”

You frowned at his question, eyes snapping to his. “I’m worried about her, Sam.”

“I am too, but she can handle herself. And if she doesn’t want to be found, you have to let her be. I know the Avengers were your only family. I know how much Steve meant to you-”

“No.” You pulled away rather harshly, digging your nails into your palms, trying not to cry, ignoring the wound you were irritating. “No, you don’t. How could you understand my feelings for Steve when I don’t understand them myself?”

Sam always had this ability to make anyone feel important, just by looking them in the eye. It was something you always admired about him; the way his smile could light up a room, those warm eyes making everyone’s fears go away. They reminded you of hot chocolate. Something that could soothe your worries, comfort you, warm your very soul from the ice tragedy and heartache tend to big on.

You promised yourself you wouldn’t cry in front of people, but with the way he was looking at you, it was hard to keep the tears from slipping.

“You loved him, Y/N. Why is it so hard for you to see that?”

“I didn’t - I wasn’t in love with him, Sam.” You argued, wiping your cheeks aggressively and turning, crossing your arms defensively.

“What do you call it then?”

It was a rhetorical question, Sam copying your movements and sitting straight to watch for Bucky coming out. A rhetorical question that you didn’t know the answer to. Because you weren’t in love with Steve. No. Maybe you had been, but somewhere along the way he passed your heart to Bucky. So why did it hurt so bad?

You refused to dwell on it anymore, clearing your throat and dabbing at your eyes one more time before changing the topic. “Why are we in Baltimore?”

“Bucky wanted me to meet someone. Isaiah. You know him?” Sam turned back to you, his warm eyes shifting into something else. Suspicion? A bit of anger? Annoyance? You couldn’t tell.

“Isaiah? I don’t think I know any Isaiahs. And definitely not here. Why? Who is he?”

Sam shook his head, eyes darting around the lobby. “We’ll talk about it later.”

You nodded, although now your curiosity had peaked and you wondered who this guy was that made Sam so agitated. While you waited, you felt your eyes drooping and you let your head fall onto Sam’s shoulder, who chuckled.

“You’re still tired? You know you slept for, like, twelve hours, right?”

“I haven’t been sleeping much.”

Sam turned his head to kiss yours. “Y/N, I know you want to care for everyone, but you’ve gotta take care of yourself too.”

“I know.”

“Okay.” And with that, the subject dropped, Sam pulling out his phone while you rested your eyes.

It was another ten minutes or so before Sam’s name was called and the both of you stood up to greet the speaker. A woman, Dr. Raynor. Bucky’s infamous therapist.

And speaking of infamous. The moment you heard his voice, you squeezed your eyes shut, hoping it was just your brain malfunctioning. And then he was walking towards you, calling Bucky ‘Bucky’ like they were old pals and he was saving him from something terrible.

Your face scrunched up as Walker talked about stopping Bucky’s regular therapy sessions. “He’s too valuable of an asset to have him tied up-”

“Don’t call him an asset.” You snapped. “He’s a human being with needs, and therapy-”

“He’s a super soldier with skills that we need.” Walker cut in, making you scowl as he turned back to Raynor.

You scoffed in disbelief at his words, turning on your heel and walking away before he did, heading straight for Bucky, who lifted his right arm, wrapping it around your shoulders once you were close enough.

“Are you okay?” You whispered, closing your eyes and trying to relax in his hold, breathing him in.

“Are you? Should you be walking? What did-”

You shook your head. “I’m fine.”

“Really?”

“Promise.” You sighed out with a nod, squeezing him once more before pulling back as Raynor stepped forwards, ordering Bucky and Sam to do a session with her. You almost laughed when Sam tried refusing, a little chuckle actually leaving your lips when Bucky slumped, dragging his feet like a kid going to the principal’s office.

You followed, Bucky holding the door open for you. “Thanks, Buck.”

“Of course, doll.” He gave a small smile, before walking in after you, Sam letting out a, “hey!” when Bucky shut the door on him, making you roll your eyes. You let the corners of your mouth tick up slightly in amusement. Yes, they annoyed the hell out of you, but you had to admit it was pretty funny sometimes.

“I believe I asked for James and Sam, Ms. Y/L/N.”

“It’s Agent, actually, and I think I’m gonna sit in.”

Raynor narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think-”

“That wasn’t a request.” You threw her words to Sam back at her, making Sam smirk. You shot him a wink as she relented with a sigh. 

“Fine. Just as a spectator. Don't interrupt.”

You raise your hands in surrender, slipping around the table to stand in the corner as your fellas sank down into the seats across the table from her.

A small puff of laughter came from you at the lack of response when she asked one of them to start. She shot you a warning look over her shoulder, but you shrugged. You couldn’t help it; it was like all those times back in grade school when a teacher asked for a volunteer to read in a classroom full of rowdy kids and crickets followed.

Once she mentioned the next exercise was used for couples, you had to laugh, making both men shoot you begging pouts.

“Y/N.” Raynor glared at you, so you controlled yourself, gesturing for her to continue.

Her miracle question did work so well, neither of them cooperating well.

She didn’t even bother with you when you started cackling after she mentioned the “soul-gazing exercise” and Bucky thanked her, Sam commenting that he would like this one. You gave a teasing wolf-whistle when they got close, one of Bucky’s thighs between Sam’s and vice versa.

“Doll.” Bucky whined at you.

“Listen here, smartass-”

Raynor cleared her throat, cutting Sam off from finishing his statement towards you. You leaned back against the wall, crossing your arms with a smirk. After all the bickering and side taking they’ve put her through, letting you enjoy this was the least they could do, and they knew it.

Of course, this exercise didn’t work out either. A staring contest. Children. She was best friends with literal children.

But then something happened. Something you never thought would happen. Raynor asked Bucky why Sam aggravated him, and Bucky looked over to you, his eye growing sad in a way they only did when Steve was involved.

“Steve believed in you.” Bucky told him earnestly. “He trusted you. He gave you that shield for a reason. That shield? That is…that is everything he stood for. That is his legacy. He gave you that shield, and you threw it away like it was nothing.  So maybe he was wrong about you. And if he was wrong about you, he was wrong about me.”

You heard his voice crack a little at the end as he slumped down in his seat, you jaw dropping slightly. You listened to the rest of the conversation, catching the way Sam grew irritated again, something that you didn’t previously think was possible, but was happening more and more now.

Why wasn’t Sam talking to you? Why was he holding all this in suddenly? And why…Bucky…he didn’t tell you that. Why didn’t he say anything? How could he ever feel…

But you knew how he could feel like that. Yes, Steve believed in him so much that he tore the Avengers apart for him…but he was the only one willing to do that for him. Yeah, you and Sam and Wanda and Clint, you all joined their side but, being honest, it wasn’t because you believed in Bucky. It was because you believed in Steve. Of course, it was different now. You believed in Bucky with your entire being, and you believed in Sam with your heart and soul, but…did either of them know that? Did they believe you when you told them? Or did you not tell them enough? This whole time you thought you were doing right by Steve - trying you damn hardest to watch out for them. But it obviously wasn’t enough. And that was on you, no matter what Sam said.

You read people. That’s what you’ve always done, that’s what you’d always do. It was the reason you earned your spot on the team. You read people and situations and could figure your way into their heads in a second. Years and years of undercover work taught you how to do that and how to protect yourself while doing so.

So why? How? How did you miss something this big? How did you miss the way Sam was holding onto something? Why did you ignore the vexation in his tone for the last couple weeks? How did you miss that Bucky was hurting that deeply? Why didn’t you do anything more for him?

You left the room before either of the boys, but you heard Sam standing up as you walked out the door.

You should’ve known you weren’t the only one holding things in. Of course they were. The difference is, you were supposed to be their rock, the thing they could hold onto to ground themselves, the shoulder for them to cry on, and the ear lent to them whenever they needed someone to listen. That was your job. It wasn’t their job. Not for you. Your rock - your shoulder, your ear - he left you. And you thought, after all he did for you, if you just returned the favor for his best friends, you’d…you dunno. You’d be closer to him, maybe.

But you couldn’t. Because you weren’t Steve Rogers. And you knew that from the start, but you had to try. You tried. And it wasn’t working. He made it seem so easy when he did it for you. Clearly you didn’t give him enough credit for dealing with all your shit on top of his own.

“Doll.” You didn’t stop walking, needing to get outside for some fresh air. “Doll, hold on. Wait a minute.”

He grabbed your arm as you made it outside, spinning you to face him. “You didn’t tell me.” You spoke quietly, your voice fragile as you stared at him, confusion and hurt in your eyes. Were you really that bad at doing your job? Did you really already fail him? He asked you to do one thing…

“I didn’t…I didn’t want you to deal with my problems.” You opened your mouth, but he shook his head, holding your face between his hands. “I’m not stupid, Y/N. I know something’s going on with you. You’re good at hiding your nightmares at night, but I’m better. You’re jumpier than usual. Quieter. Every time Wanda’s brought up, you turn away. And the other day? On the truck? You froze. I was watching, doll. It was just a second, but you froze. You never freeze.”

“It’s not your job to worry about me, Buck-”

He frowned, tilting his head. “Not my job? Aren’t we friends? Isn’t that what friends do? Or am I just a job to you? I know you promised him to look after me. Is that all I am to you? A responsibility?”

You shook your head vigorously, holding onto his wrists. “No. No, Bucky, I just-”

“Do you think he was wrong about me?”

Salty diamonds ran down your cheeks as you clenched your eyes shut and shook your head. “No.”

“Did you ever believe in me? Did you ever care or was it all just because Steve? Is Steve the only reason you tolerate me?”

“Don’t say that. God, please don’t say that.” You begged quietly, meeting his gaze again. Every beautiful detail was laced with devastation, eyes imploring her to make him feel better. “Of course I believe in you. I have since Wakanda, you know that. Yes, okay, maybe Steve is why I helped you at first, but-but…I care about you, James. So much so that it hurts sometimes. He wasn’t wrong about you. Or Sammy. You both mean so much to me. Okay?”

You watched his Adam’s Apple bob as he swallowed thickly, nodding slightly. You both simultaneously moved to get closer, him pulling you while you stepped into his chest, arms around his waist. His arms were tight around your shoulder, holding you just as firm as the kiss he planted on your forehead.

Sam came out, planting himself besides you as you pulled away, Bucky wiping your eyes. “I feel better.” He huffed out sarcastically, making you smack him in the arm. “Ow! Yeesh. Women these days.”

The sudden siren of one of the parked police cars made the three of you look over, spotting Walker and Hoskins. You groaned. “Did he see that?”

“Hey,” Bucky caught your jaw between his fingers, shaking his head. “Who cares? It’s between us and us only. Right?” You nodded, making him kiss your forehead again, a whisper of “attagirl” against your skin. You hadn’t heard that from him in a while.

“Gentlemen!” Walker waved them over, nodding at you. “And lady.” The three of you reluctantly walked over, Bucky going to lean on the police car Walker and Hoskins were near and you hopped up to sit on the hood of the police car across from them, Sam besides you.

You got information from Walker, who was once again trying to get you to work with him, but Sam summed it up nicely, explaining that the three of you didn’t have to follow the rules he did. You started to leave, Bucky tucking you under his arms once you slid off the car, when Walker stopped you once more.

“A word of advice, then. Stay the hell out of my way.”

You grumbled under your breath as the faker and his lapdog walked off. “I’m gonna kill him.” You vowed as the three of you started in the other direction. “I swear to God, I’m gonna rip that shield off his back and use it to beat him in that stupid face of his-”

“Down, girl.” Sam jested, flicking your ear. “We need a game plan. What’re we thinking?”

Your eyes narrowed as Bucky piped up, talking about the Isaiah character - who you still didn’t know - before HYDRA entered the equation.

“Absolutely not.” You shook your head, tugging his arm to make him stop once he mentioned Siberia. “Do you remember Siberia? Because if you’re actually suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, we remember Siberia very differently.”

“He’s our best bet-”

“So you’re just going to go sit in a room with this guy?”

Bucky scrunched up his nose. “Ye-yes…”

A beat of silence passed before Sam gave his stamp of approval, but you still disagreed. “There’s no way this’ll end well and I refuse to let you-”

You found your face between Bucky’s hands again. You really wished he’d stop doing that and just ask for your attention. You didn’t mean that, of course. You’d be held by him every second of every day if you could. “Don’t you trust me, doll?”

You licked your lips, looking around the darkened street. This was not a good idea. A bad plan - a terrible plan, really - but, unfortunately, it was the only one you had. “Dammit. I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.” You finally sighed, running a hand through your hair after Bucky let go of you, his eyebrow quirking.

“Is that a yes?”

Sam nodded. “We’re gonna go see Zemo.”

You tugged Bucky’s hand when he nodded back and went to walk after Sam, who started walking around the corner, making him stop. “And yes. I do trust you. With everything I have, Buckaroo.”

[cosmolog]

Imagine No Way Home ended with this scene.

Side Note: Y/n is a superhero who can teleport and slow down or even freeze time.

This imagine was literally me writing this while listening to this song and thinking, "every time I turn around you disappear" hmm, teleportation powers, she shall have!

Peter sat on a bench in a local park, the same park in which he helped Tony fight an alien from space. He remembers that moment with sadness. That was the start of his space journey, one which led to him blipping along with half the universe.

He remembers entering that afterlife place, seeing all those people freaking out at what had just occured. Until Strange had called up all the heroes and told them of the plan. The plan that led to the end of the war, and the end of Tony's life.

After that, Peter had gone back to being Spider-Man, though it ended in him making a fake friend and the betrayal of said friend.

Then all that led to Peter's identity being revealed to the entire world. Most people hated Peter for 'killing Mysterio', but only the people who truly believed in Spider-Man had the common sense to think, 'He wouldn't do such a thing. He's Spider-Man!'

And after visiting Strange about it, all went to shit. Spider-Men and their villains from different universes started leaking into Peter's universe.

So in order to set things right, Peter told Strange to make everyone forget he existed. Which worked a treat after some lovey dovey stuff.

So now, nobody knew who Peter was. He had tried and failed to tell his friends what happened, he didn't want to ruin their lives all over again.

Anyways. Present day.

As Peter sat, his eyes drifting between all the people around him. Some kids were playing with their dog, their mother keeping a watchful eye on them, a man was reading the New York Times, a woman doing a photoshoot with a guy behind the camera, the clicks of each shot rang through Peter's ears.

Suddenly, he felt another person sit down beside him, on the other end of the bench. "So this is what you're going to do all day" The girl, around Peter's age, spoke, also looking around the place.

Peter glanced at her. "Sorry, uh. Are you talking to me?" He asked, not seeing a phone to her ear.

She smiled, meeting his gaze. "I sure am" She replied.

"What do you mean by saying this is what I've been doing all day?" He asked. "I don't even know who you are"

"Apologies, Mr. Parker. I'm bad at communicating with fellow people. I'm Y/n L/n" She answered.

"How- How do you know me. Strange casted a spell, you're not meant to know me" Peter rushed, beginning to freak out.

"Did I forget to mention I'm not exactly human?" She asked, mentally kicking herself. "I'm sort of a superhero...? I don't know what else to call it. I can teleport and freeze time meaning my body can rip itself apart only to be put back together every time I teleport" She teleported all the way to the edge of the park, where Peter could spot her waving, before teleporting back to where she originally sat.

"Does it hurt?" Peter asked.

"No...Not really" She replied. "I got these....abilities when I touched a blue box. Which was I don't know how many years ago" She replied, crossing one leg over the other. "I was pretty stupid back then"

"We could've used you in the fight against Thanos, your skills would've come in handy" Peter said. "Why didn't you help?"

"Because I didn't even know there was a fight. You were on another planet. Plus, I don't want to be a superhero like you or have responsibilities like Steve Rogers" She said. "I just want my powers to be something I can use if I ever need to get away from danger or get others out of danger"

Peter paused for a moment. "How come Mr.Stark or Nick Fury didn't find you?" He asked.

"Have a good think about that one, Peter. Teleportation is very handy if nobody else can move as fast as you" She chuckled. "Nick Fury did find me once, he tried to make me join the Avengers and I wanted no part in that, even if they offered me all that money. I don't like feeling like people own me. I don't like being used as a human shield" She said.

"Okay, I see where you're coming from but I don't do it for the paycheck, heck, I don't get payed at all now. Being Spider-Man is great, I get to do my part ensuring the safety of everyone in New York and the World. And when I'm me, I get to hang out with my friends and go through normal life things like having a girlfriend. Well, at least I had a girlfriend and a life. But it's just Spider-Man, he's all I can be now. Everyday I wake up, and it's Spider-Man who goes about his day. I feel like Peter Parker stopped existing the moment I put on that suit for the first time" Peter ranted.

Y/n nodded in understanding. "Well...I remember you. So Peter Parker does exist, I'm living evidence of that. And I believe in you, always have always will"

"How do you know me?" Peter asked, titling his head slightly.

She shrugged. "This is gonna sound weird but I've seen you before, first in my dreams, then at school. And the thing is, my memory is so incredibly enhanced thanks to the tesseract, that not even a spell from the former Sorcerer Supreme could tamper with my head. It's very interesting, most of the stuff I know now, I just know because of that blue stone. I know everything there is to know about the universe. I can go anywhere I want. So you could say the stone protected me. Well, some of it, the rest is destroyed"

Peter huffed. "Huh" He muttered.

She suddenly sat up, leaning towards him, a smile on her face. "So, do you wanna catch some bad guys?" She asked.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Appointment Scheduled

Summary- 2.7k Ransom Drysdale x Reader. Since that night at your parents, you haven't been to see Ransom. Not that he wasn't always on your mind. But you continue to defend your 'FWB' term that is all he is. Ransom gets tired of receiving physical silence from you.

So he made himself an appointment.

Warnings- somewhat mad mean Ransom, reader in denial of her feelings, some in the office over the desk sex. This is a cheater fic, the reader is cheating on her boyfriend and Ransom is encouraging this. Please if this bothers you, do not read it.

A/N- another self-indulgent fic featuring these two? Yes please, it's what I wanted, so it's what I wrote. As always, thank you for reading, comments and reblogging. You all have to thank @sagechanoafterdark for Ellie showing up in the story. We were talking that the reader needs a best friend who is like "Duh, you two are meant to be, it is so obvious." to our reader.

Masterlist

“Ellie no I haven't seen him since my dad's birthday party. I mean a few messages here and there, but nothing more about meeting up.”

You hear your best friend scoff on the other line. She was your confidante, your tried and true, better or worse, the bitch who will help you bury the body friend.

She also lacked sugar coating anything.

“Well, you two are just dumb. One of you has to open that line of conversation, might as well be you.”

You hit the button to the lift, sighing into the phone as you watched the numbers ding. “I don’t know what conversation you are talking about El.”

“Uh, the one where you two have been in love with each other since basically middle school? The one where whenever you feel lonely, that's the man you call? Or how about the one how he runs to you whenever you even put out a HINT that you might need him? That one Y/N.”

“We are just fuck buddies-”

“Really good, rock your world, the best sex and head you’ve ever gotten, buddy. Right?” Ellie’s tone is dripping with sarcasm now and you pinch your nose in aggravation while stepping onto the elevator.

“Exactly like that.” You go a bit quiet. “Listen, I’m at work, so talk later, okay?”

“Sure, I miss you. I wish you would move back to the city.” Ellie softened her tone a bit. “Girls weekend soon? I love you.”

“I love you too and of course!” You hit the end button and stuff it in your bag, staying quiet the rest of the ride up.

Working as a lawyer's assistant wasn’t too bad. Although it's often said couples shouldn't work together, you hardly saw Neil while you were there. He was usually in some kind of pissing match with another DA in the building, which made for some interesting rants from him when he got home.

You dutifully listened, but with little interest. They got old and boring, which was how you were feeling in this ‘safe relationship.’

Really you felt something must be fucked up with you. Neil was a good guy, supportive, he didn't have much of a jealous streak, although you wished once in a while he would get a bit riled up about when someone was checking you out when the two of you went out for a date night. Everything was stable in your relationship, aside from the fact you basically were away to Ransom's bed any chance you could.

Then there was Ransom. The man you were able to actually swear yourself off from two years straight and got your life in order.

So you thought. It took one drink and conversation to fall back to where you two were two years ago. Only this time you found him missing him while you were away, thinking about him more.

You opened your office door and propped it open for your boss's clients to come inside and wait, your boss's door opened on the other side. Shaking off your over-the-top feelings going on, you went to pour Johanna's coffee and grab the files for today's cases. She was on the phone, so you just set them down with a small wave of your hand and settled behind the desk to get started transferring her notes into the system.

Ransom though was never far from your mind when you gave your cell the occasional glance.

Lunchtime approached which meant you would meet up with Neil and head to the small cafe on the corner. He would ask you about your work, you would ask him about his. There would be pleasantries shared. You sighed once more to yourself at the thought of it.

Johanna closed her door with a sudden click. You jumped a bit in surprise as she shouldered her handbag. “You okay Dear?” The woman asked kindly and you smiled, brushing it off.

“Caught up in these files.”

“Ah, yes there is a lot with this case. Sorry about all the extra notes. I know it's a tad boring. But take your break, stay out with Neil a little extra. It's a nice day and you've earned it.” She smiled kindly.

“I will be sure to, maybe Neil and I can breeze around the park before returning.” Fat chance… you thought as you smiled kindly at your boss as she took her leave. You picked at your cell phone, working your lip about to message Neil that you would meet him when a rather loud distinctive tone filled the entryway to your and Johanna's office.

“I have a meeting lined up with Johanna Klein, if you could let her assistant know that Ransom Drysdale is here to see her.”

Dropping your cell phone, forgetting about Neil, you rise out of your seat and go to your door, peering out. Ransom is leaning against the desk to the receptionists of the lawyer's offices explaining how it was your lunchtime and you were out of the building.

Ransom’s voice was about to release, you could see him drawing in the air to make himself a bit more imposing at the idea that he wasn’t allowed to see you when his icy orbs lifted from the receptionist to you, a perfect smirk crossing those pale pink lips that could be so soft at the moment while dropping venom just as easily. “She looks like she is available to me.”

The receptionist spun her chair to see you in the doorway. “It’s okay, Johanna booked him as the last one this morning.” You lied while Ransom made his way around the desk to enter your office. The receptionist looked like she was about to say something more when you quickly clicked the door closed and pulled the shade over the frosted glass to keep from anyone seeing the two of you in there.

“What are you doing here Ransom?” You ask yet again, while he was leaning against the desk with his arms folded over his chest.

“I have an appointment. Seems it's the only way to properly see you again.” He pushed up the sleeves of his long sleeves over muscled forearms. You being you, was absolutely unable to take your eyes off that action.

“Well, I’ve been busy and you never made mention of it again.”

“Kitten…” His tone lowered with a warning. “I didn't think I had to imply that you could come over whenever. But if I'm going to have to do it this way from now on.” He pushed off the desk to stalk the small space to you. “Guess that's what I will do. Book my appointments between-” a slight snarl darkened his face, the crease between his eyes deepening as his hand rested in your lower back and pushed you closer to him.

Overwhelmingly closer. His muscles through the shirt flexed under your hands coming to rest on his pecs and his cologne made your mouth water with the familiarity. The scent of bergamot and cedar gave an almost smoky scent, a touch of sweetness with vanilla had you inching closer to Ransom. “- your time with Neil.”

Your eyes flashed angrily at him then, pulling back a bit in his hold. “What does it matter to you, Ransom?”

“It doesn't. Like I told you before Kitten, you and I will never be over.”

“Feels a lot like jealousy to me then.” You spat a bit. “Since we're just this.” You shrugged a bit, now your temper is getting the best of you. “What was it that Ellie said to me this morning. Fuck buddies.”

“Your term, not mine Kitten.” Ransom yanked you in close again, this time his kiss was a lot different than that night in your bedroom. It was harsh and demanding, forcing you to open your mouth to him and swallow his passion. “You know fucking Neil is skating on thin ice, keeping you all the time.” He shoved you roughly against your desk, your hands flying to the paperwork you were working on before and it went flying for the most part. Some of it fisted in your hand as your ass arched out and pressed against Ransom's groin, making you hiss when he jerked your hips further back.

“Neil is technically my-” You started when a hand slapped over your mouth, fingers digging into your cheeks roughly.

All of it was turning you on, making your thighs squeeze together and you breathe harshly through your nose the more excited you got. “Don’t say it Kitten. Not right now, this is my time. Remember. I made an appointment.”

You felt your skirt get rucked up around your hips and Ransom leaned over, his chest pressing into your back as he flushed hot kisses on your neck, a yank to your shirt dragged your shirt over your shoulder. It wasn't gentle kisses, it was deep leave his mark there that was making you tilt your head and push back into him once more while he fumbled with his own pants to yank them open.

“Yes, yes your appointment. Did you miss this pussy?” You purred, mimicking the nickname you had earned. His fingers pushed aside the bit of cotton that was now sticky clinging to your folds and he stroked you with precision, spreading your slick all around till he swirled a finger against your clit.

“Enough to come searching your ass out.” He remarked when you felt his cock take over where his fingers were, thicker, velvet hardness in your soft folds make you mewl while gripping your desk's edge.

It was the right call, as soon as Ransom felt you start to take him, he pressed harder. Making you both hiss, your head falling against your desk as he stretched you open, his cock filling you quickly. His teeth sunk into your shoulder, registering the sting of it when he rutted into you, slamming your hips into the desk suddenly. “Fuck Ransom,” You hissed out and bit your lip to stifle a moan.

“This perfect round ass that is so fuckable.” His hand came against a cheek while his hips slammed into you steadily. Jerking you on the desk. But it all felt so good, the stink of the slap making you tighten around his cock while you gave a yelp in protest.

Again his hand came around your mouth, stuffing fingers in your mouth which you wrapped your lips around and sucked on them, making your eyes roll when you tasted yourself on them. “Shut it Kitten, suck yourself off me like a good girl while I fill this perfect cunt.” Ransom snapped his teeth near your ear. You moaned, trying to confirm that you would, you would do just as he said while he fucked you harshly from behind.

It clouded your mind, forgetting everything you had been stressed about all morning. Ransom's cock pounded into your wanting body like it was all you ever needed. Your smooth walls flexed around him, tightening till you felt the throbbing ridges that dragged and pulled through you.

It wasn't just his cock driving you mindless. It was the grunted words in your ear. “Perfect little clock slut, Kitten you love getting fucked on your desk don’t you?” He hissed in your ear as another drive made you moan incoherent at him. “Just so cock drunk slut, who is too stupid to answer me.” A tongue was dragged on your tongue, kisses right at the hinge of your jaw made you whine and press back against him. He knew that it drove you crazy to feel the flush of his lips along your neck, driving you mindless. “Just my sweet little Kitten taking it so well.”

All you could do was mewl around his fingers stuffed in your mouth, drool escaping from the corners of your stretched lips and dribbling on the paperwork you had crumpled in your fists. Your chest pressed harshly against the desk, making you wheeze under Ransom’s weight. It was smothering, him all over caging you against the furniture, pumping his cock harshly into your core and your mouth stuffed with his fingers keeping you quiet.

It was too much and not enough, cause you still weren't quite there. The heat burned in your belly, wanting to implode you into oblivion. Ransom gritted his teeth as he wedged a hand under you, fingers feeling for your throbbing clit that ached for his touch.

The roll of his fingers made you moan at the tension. The rush made your spine snap and fight against Ransom, which he felt as you squealed in protest, his teeth snapping near you while he sputtered.

“Just fucking cum Kitten, then you can relax. Your boss will be back any time now.” Nearby you glanced at your phone that somehow was still on the table, the time wavering in your sight, as well as some ‘Where are you?’ texts from Neil.

Ransom wanted you to relax and cum, which is what you wanted as well. The numbing release was right there with his help and you let go. The wave was mind blanking. You sagged under Ransom, and he tightened his hold on you as he used you. But you were in bliss as he grunted over you, hot shots of cum filling you while he sagged in relief against you.

Jerks of his cock still quivered your sensitive walls as he took a few last slow pumps into you before he plated his hands against your messy desk and pulled himself up, pulling out of your messy cunt.

“Gonna have to go the rest of the day like that Kitten.” He chuckled as he straightened your panties back in place and pulled your skirt down over your ass. His hand went around your waist and he helped guide you back to a stand to face him. Brushes of his thumbs over your face was an attempt to fix your makeup which made you wince while you rubbed the drool from your chin.

“How bad is it?”

Ransom winced when you asked. “Pretty bad… looks like you've been crying… or got properly fucked. Take your pick.” He said as his hands dropped to pull his pants back in place and zip them back up, the button going back through the loop.

It was unfair that Ransom didn't get completely ruined like you did when this sort of thing happened. You rushed around your desk to grab some wet wipes to wipe the smudged lipstick and mascara off.

‘You know… I never have this problem with Neil.” You muttered and Ransom snapped back as he watched you, leaning down to pick up some of the papers that fell and shuffle them together while you did a quick reapplication so no one would question it.

“Kitten, obviously the man isn't fucking you right then.” A smirk flashed up at you as he handed you your papers and you were quick to tuck them away.

You broke into a small dirty smile, a roll of your eyes playing with him. “Well… you are correct in that Ransom. Now split, Johanna will be back soon.”

“Nope." A pop of the p that made you huff at him. "I have an appointment Y/N.” He swept down into a seat just as Johanna clicked open the door and stepped back in.

“Y/N, did you have a good lunch? I didn’t expect to see you back so soon. But I was told my next client is here.” She glanced towards the corner of the room where Ransom was picking at his sweater. “Mr. Drysdale, come on in with me, please? We will get started.” She smiled warmly as she went around your desk to let herself into her office, Ransom moving to a stand with a chipper.

“Absolutely, thrilled to get started. Y/N here has been a perfect host in the meantime.” He winked at you with a light brush of his fingers along your arm before disappearing into Johanna’s office, the door shutting behind them.

You could only begin to guess what Ransom was up to coming all the way here. Which you would find out later, either from Ransom or Johanna.

Right now you had to deal with standing up Neil, which when you picked up your phone, chewing your lip that you still could taste yourself on from Ransom’s fingers, you read the message.

Y/N, where are you? I have been waiting for an hour for you.

You started to text out your lie of an excuse hoping that this wouldn't be the day it would all blow up in your face.

[youngbloodslut]

celebrity crush | 2/??

a/n: the first interview is mostly based off of dove cameron and ava max’s interviews with popbuzz

summary: actress! reader somehow manages to bring up her crush on calum hood in every interview

pairing(s): calum hood x reader, platonic! reader x tom holland

warning(s): swearing? slight mentions of kinks

“She’s at it again mate,” Ashton smirked as he carried his laptop over to Calum who was sat on the sofa. He flipped open the computer and hit play on y/n y/l/n’s newest interview.

“C’mon, I don’t wanna-” Calum rubbed his hand over is face and shook his head.

Ashton ignored him and turned up the volume to drown out his protest. “Shhh.. watch.”

“Hey guys, I’m y/n y/l/n and this is the Pop Buzz Tower of Truth.” You spoke as the title popped up on screen.

“I think I’m gonna end up tipping it before I can even get one block out,” You said as you tried to carefully pull of a wooden block. 

“That will never work,” Calum heard a voice from off camera say and recognized it as Tom Holland. He tried not to frown as you laughed and mocked him.

“Y’know what, we’re leaving that one.” You laughed, leaving the original block alone and easily pulling out another block.

“There we go. Okay, what was the last movie or tv show that make you cry? Dead Poets Society. I love Dead Poets Society so much and Tom had never seen it so we watched it after finishing yesterdays interviews.” You placed the block on top of the tower. “And he cried.”

The camera crew laughed as Tom shouted a, “Hey!”

“Tell us one thing about you that we don’t know. Um, this is hard because I’m always saying stuff that I shouldn’t be. Um, I’m an Oxford comma worshiper.” You said, unsure whether or not that’s interesting enough.

“Oxford comma?” A crew member behind the camera questioned.

“Yeah, y’know, the comma that comes before ‘and’ when making a list. I hate that people don’t use it because then I get all confused. Like if I were to write ‘Lizzie, Tom, and Robert are going to the party’ and I don’t add a comma before ‘and’ then it seems like Tom and Robert would be arriving at the party together. But some people who don’t use the Oxford comma could mean that all three people were showing up separately so I never know. Y’know what I mean?”

The camera crew were all silent after her rant and Calum chuckled a bit to himself. He thought it was cute that you were so passionate about the smallest things. Ashton looked over to him as Calum admired you through the screen. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew Calum secretly liked how much you talked about him.

“No,” Tom responded honestly

“Ugh,” You rolled your eyes dramatically and looked into the camera, “See, these are the type of guys you got to look out for: Un-grammarly men.” You joked.

“Un-grammarly isn’t a thing.” Tom laughed.

“Well if it were a thing, you’d be one.” You fired back at Tom.

“Anyway, who is your favorite artist right now? Um, probably Wallows, I love them and their music.”

“I was really expecting Calum Hood to be honest.” Tom shouted from across the room.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I just forgot about him like that. I love you Calum Hood. I love 5sos.” You held up your hands into a heart shape and moved your hands from side to side. 

You then dropped them and grabbed another block. “Sorry, I keep forgetting that people are actually going to see these interviews. Like, he could literally see this. Dude, I hope he doesn’t.” You paused, “Oh god, do you think he knows about my crush on him?” You had been mentioning him for years and it had never once occurred to you that he could actually see these. 

Calum laughed at the irony of the situation. Here he was watching a video of you saying you hoped he’d never see said video.

“This is humiliating.” You mumbled though you didn’t seem to actually care, “Who was your first celebrity crush? Oh uh, definitely Andrew Garfield. I remember when I first watched the Social Network and I was like obsessed. My friend and I both watched it over 10 times within like two months. And then would continuously make Mark Zuckerberg jokes. But of course, Calum Hood now owns my heart.” You put the block on top of the tower. “I’m actually doing really good, I thought I’d knock it down by now.”

“Describe in detail the worst date you’ve ever been on. Okay so I was like fifteen right, and, well I’m not even sure if this counts as a date. I think he considered it a date so I guess it was but basically we were in the car, he was sixteen so he could drive. We were in the drive through, we had already ordered, and he started feeling around in is pockets and I was like oh god, cause I knew what was about to happen. He was like, ‘oh no i think i lost my wallet’, and I was like its fine I’ll pay. I really didn’t mind. I ended up paying, we got our drinks and without missing a beat, we hadn’t even pulled out of the drive through, he was like’oh here’s my wallet.’ I really didn’t mind paying for my coffee, I wouldn’t mind paying for both of our coffees. But him going out of his way to lie, and then not even lie well, was so irritating.” She placed the block on the top and picked up a new one.

“What is the most useless idem you’ve ever purchased? Um, I bought a seven foot giraffe while I saw drunk once.” The block was added to the top, the tower now taller than you. “He’s in my living room if you wanted to know.”

You grabbed the next block carelessly, immediately regretting it when the tower fell behind you, “Oh shit, well I guess we’re done then.” You said nonchalantly, looking at the blocks on the floor. “I don’t think I’ll be playing this again anytime soon. Love you guys,” You held up your hands, “Love you Calum Hood.” You winked before the outro began to play.

“She must really love you, Cal.” Ashton poked Calum’s cheek annoyingly, “She’s got no shame.”

Calum wouldn’t admit it, but as soon as he got home he looked you up again. He clicked on the same video Ashton showed him and scrolled through the comments. 

y/nscalumhoodkink: MOMOMOMOMOMOM

datemey/n: Queen of Jenga

ashtonfletchersbitch: Y/N LITERALLY IS ME

5esohes: no because y/n y/l/n and calum hood together is my kink

noemptywalletshere: not only does y/n own this fandom, but my ass too

He couldn’t help but laugh at the comments no matter how interesting they were. But something in the back of his head kept yelling at him. She doesn’t acting like you. Shes just likes your music, nothing more. He sighed and clicked out of the video and was about the close his laptop when his cursor handed on a video. 

Y/n Y/l/n foaming at the mouth while talking about Calum Hood for 5 minutes straight.

He clicked on it a little too quickly and waited for it too load. 

“Calum Hood choke me challenge.” You stuck out your tongue and threw up a peace sign with an innocent look plastered on here face. 

“Bro imagine if Calum Hood saw this?” “Oh he would definitely fall for you after this video”

The third thing to pop up was a tweet from 2015 just saying: #marrymecalumhood

“Calum Hood send me hand pics. This is a demand, not a request.”

Calum continued to watch the entire video. Normally, the thirsty comments would have made him uncomfortable, but them coming from you made his heart race and cheeks flush.

God, what was happening to him?

[eirikaanemo]

Venti's crush is a sister in the Church of Favonius. That's the entire prompt. Okay, she may have overheard Venti when he asked for the Holy Lyre and maaaaybe she gave it to him (in the name of freedom!), but she probably wouldn't be a sister after that.

Venti x GN!Reader

1.7k Words

Warnings: Eviction? Kinda?

Notes: So, halfway through I remembered "Sister" is a gendered term, so I switched it to "Disciple". Hopefully that still works!

Part 2: His Fight

His Lyre

He first caught your attention while he was doing a street performance. You were walking down the street, minding your own business, when you heard a melody so beautiful that you swore it had to be Barbatos himself. Following your curiosity, you found him performing a ballad for a group of children. His clear tenor painted looks of wonder on their faces as he regaled them with tales of Vanessa and the revolution of freedom.

You couldn’t help but stop to watch as well. He had captivated you as much as he had the children and you didn’t regret a thing. After Vanessa’s tale he sang of the fall of the storm god, the rise of Barbatos, the shaping of the lands, and the rise of Mondstadt. Every song seemed almost more amazing than the last.

It was getting close to evening by the time you were able to free yourself from his spell. Or rather, he stopped casting it. His last few notes rang out and faded into the darkness. You almost didn’t dare to breathe in fear of breaking the serene silence that overtook the scene. Then his eyes opened.

This was your first real chance to get a good look at them as he was usually facing just slightly away from you. Everyone else had gone home, so as he scanned the area, his eyes fell on you. And suddenly all you could see was his eyes. They’re beautiful, you thought to yourself, a hint of blush warming your cheeks.

His braids swayed a bit as he tilted his head curiously and a smile flashed across his lips. “It’s not often I see a Disciple here, tell me, did you like what there was to hear?”

“I did,” you confirmed. “I’m very impressed! It was almost like I was listening to Barbatos himself!”

He looked stunned for a moment, then an odd look crossed his face before he quickly covered it up with a broad smile. “Thanks! I appreciate the sentiment! That’s really quite the compliment.”

You were able to spend the next little while chatting before you had to go, but similar scenes occurred fairly often as time went on. About the tenth time or so he decided that you were friends, which you had no objection to. Though there was always a small twinge in your heart whenever he called you that for some reason.

Along with becoming friends, you started to notice some things. His songs are… very detailed in a way that makes them line up with records that rarely see the light of day. While you do your best to share Barbatos’ gospel of freedom with everyone, some records are just too fragile to be available to the general public. So the Disciples, like you, memorize them and tell them to the worshipers who come to the Cathedral.

However, either on purpose or by accident, most of the time Disciples will mix up little details or paraphrase things or skip over sections in a way that can confuse the story some. But Venti’s songs match every detail shown in the records, and more. You had checked multiple times and it always came out the same way. He was one hundred percent correct, in every song he played.

Then there was his hair. You’d never seen anyone with their hair being tinted at the ends like that. And you couldn’t find the hair dye he used either. And oh boy had you looked. You wanted teal in your hair too dang it! And when you finally asked him where he got it he laughed and said it was natural. How is that fair?

And then there are the times where he just didn’t act quite human. Like forgetting to eat all day without realizing it. Or referring to other people as “humans”, as if he, himself, isn’t human. Or how he only ever wears one outfit. Or the way anemo energy seems to flow through him instead of around him. You wouldn’t even have noticed that last one if it wasn’t for the fact that you are hypersensitive to it due to how you use your anemo vision. From all of that, and more, you can just tell that something isn’t quite what it seems about him.

So when you’re cleaning the cathedral in the back and hear him out himself as Barbatos to Sister Gotelinde something just clicked. Oh, of course he was Barbatos. What else could he possibly be? Too much added up for it to not make sense! Unfortunately by the time you were done reeling from shock Sister Gotelinde had sent him right out the door.

You had caught enough of the conversation, though, that you knew that Venti- no, Barbatos had need of his lyre. So you came up with a plan. This was going to get you in so, so much trouble. But this is what needed to be done. You need to get him his lyre.

It was surprisingly easy to swipe the lyre from its pedestal and avoid the other inhabitants of the Cathedral by taking back passageways. You had almost made it out, you were so close when you suddenly ran into someone.

Holding a hand to the point of impact starting to swell on your forehead, you squint over towards the other group. When your brain registers that you just ran into Venti you gasp and scramble to your feet, still holding the holy lyre to your chest. “Oh my goodness, I’m so, so sorry Venti,” you apologize. “Or, uh, would you prefer I call you Barbatos?”

Your friend blinks once, then twice, dumbstruck by the situation. “Venti is fine,” he scrambles to assure you after a few moments. “How did you know?”

“You weren’t exactly the quietest when speaking with Sister Gotelinde, Venti. And I was cleaning just out of sight. It made a lot more sense than some other explanations for your weird behavior that I’d come up with.” You admit sheepishly. “And I believe this is yours.”

His face lit up as you held the holy lyre out towards him. “The Lyre de Himmel! Thank you so much! See that, Traveler? We didn’t even have to steal it! I promise to do my best to take care of it.” You quirk an eyebrow as the Traveler finishes shaking off the effects of running into you.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, and you better.” you tell him pointedly, causing him to giggle nervously. “Besides, the two of you need to go! I… didn’t exactly tell anyone about this. Good luck with Dvalin, Venti, Traveler. May Barbatos be with you!” You called out the last part out of habit.

Moments later you felt a hand clap onto your shoulder. “Dear,” Sister Gotelinde drawled slightly. “Please tell me you didn’t hand our sacred treasure over to that alcoholic bard.” You’re silent for a moment before years of being at the Cathedral won over your common sense. “You know I can’t do that, Sister.”

She sighs from her position behind you and her hand tightens on your shoulder. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much trouble you’re in, especially if it doesn’t come back in one piece.” You gulp.

“Yes, Sister Gotelinde.” You murmur.

“Good, now get back to cleaning.” She instructs you curtly.

Nodding, you turn and walk past her towards where you were cleaning. She continued on, likely going to report the situation to Sister Barbara. You really hope that Venti keeps his promise.

While you try your best to put the situation out of your mind, your thoughts keep drifting back to it the whole next day. The nightmare you’d had that night hadn’t helped either. It had been a morbid scene, a broken lyre on the ground with an equally broken Venti as a triumphant Stormterror screeched over their still forms. You’d woken up sweaty.

Logically you knew that Barbatos- no, Venti wouldn’t fall to Stormterror. But the scene still wouldn’t go away. And neither did the awkward feeling that accompanied your usual duties as a disciple. Some of your regular duties were suddenly almost… laughable? You now knew that Barbatos didn’t care about a good chunk of what you did in the Cathedral that some considered absolutely essential.

Your attitude didn’t help your position though, not with everyone now knowing what you did and watching you closely. The day is long and you feel trapped every second of it. Then Venti returns victorious with a broken lyre and everything crumbles around you. You’re kicked out, banned for life, right after him, with a suitcase of your stuff chucked out after you. Even though he ‘fixed it’.

Part of you wants to just lay there and regret your life choices; but you can’t help but smile when Venti reaches a hand out to lift you up, laughing about the irony of the situation. A small smile manages to reach your face as Jean starts chuckling too.

“Don’t worry too much, I know you’ve done a great good for Mondstadt.” She reassures you. “I know you have a vision, an anemo vision at that.” She gives Venti a pointed look. “How would you like to become a knight?”

Your smile grows into something a little more natural. “I’d like that, thank you Jean.”

“It’s no problem, really the least I could do. I’m sorry it had to end like this. Now, come to my office when you have a moment so we can formalize it. But for now I need to go and formally close the Stormterror case.” With a sigh she walked past you towards the knights headquarters and the inevitable paperwork which awaits her.

“I’m sorry that you got kicked out,” Venti apologizes once Jean’s out of sight. “All you did was help and you got in trouble for it.”

“It’s alright, Venti,” you try to claim. “It was kind of awkward knowing that you are Barbatos anyway.”

“Still,” he pressed. “You put everything on the line for me and I really appreciate it. I’m really sorry I didn’t follow through. I’ll have to make it up to you. And I know just where to start.”

His kiss to your cheek was quick but sent a warmth blooming across your face, contrasting with the coolness of his lips.

“Of course,” you mumble, embarrassed. “It was your lyre anyway.”

“It was,” he agreed. “But you believed me. And that really does mean a lot to me. Thank you, really.”

[halstudandruz]

Research Purposes ~ Part 2

*Not my gif*

Pairing: Jay x Reader

Requested: Yes

Prompt: What happens when the only person in the world you didn’t want finding out does?

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: Part one found here (NSFW, 18+)

A/N 2: Also thank you to @enchantedblackrose for the idea 😊

If you are not 18+ and are unable to read part 1 and want to back story just hit me up (:

“We’re so freaking late. There’s no way we’ll have time to stop for my car.” You rushed around Jay’s apartment, pouring coffee for both of you.

“And whose fault is that.” Jay looked at you accusingly.

“I was just trying to help the environment.” You shrugged, handing him his cup after checking the lid.

“You and I both know we wasted more water in there together than we would’ve showering on our own.” He retorted grabbing his badge and gun off the coffee table to secure them to his belt.

“Yeah okay so I wanted shower sex sue me.” You rolled your eyes shrugging your jacket on.

“I wasn’t the one complaining.” He smiled, taking a drink.

“We would’ve had more than enough time if you didn’t insist on cuddling this morning.” You pointed out, remembering how he pulled you back into his chest every time you tried to move out of bed a couple hours prior.

“You like shower sex. I like cuddling.” He teased handing you your purse.

“Maybe we can draft up an alternate schedule.” You joked.

“I do hear compromise is the key to a healthy relationship.” He replied.

“We gotta go if you don’t want to get pulled over for speeding.” You changed the subject reaching for the door knob, before being tugged back by your arm, turning in time for Jay’s lips to meet yours in a sweet, passionate kiss.

“To get us both through the day.” Jay winked reaching around you to open the door and usher you out.

This was the second time that week you and Jay would be showing up to work together. Nobody noticed it the first time, but your anxiety climbed at the thought of someone recognizing and approaching you about it. What would you say? You and Jay were only in it purely for the sex. Right? Regardless of that fact that you had stayed at his house almost every night the past couple weeks even without the promise of sex, or how your stuff was starting to accumulate at his house from the past few months. A few t-shirts mixed in with his, hair straightener resting on his bathroom organizer, makeup scattered about on the dresser. Friends with benefits, that’s all it was. Nothing more and you certainly were not gaining feelings for him. Absolutely not that was against the rules and you were not about to be some stereotypical fuck buddy turned feelings trope, but you were getting sloppy apparently. You agreed to enter through the front while Jay entered through the back. Skipping up the steps you threw a smile at Trudy offering her a good morning, but in return she stared you down, eyebrow raised as she rested against the desk.

“What?” You stopped in your tracks in front of her. But she stayed silent giving you a look, and you just knew she knew. She was Trudy Platt. She knew everything.

“You should tell him.” She whispered to you, and it’s not the first time she had said something of the sort recently.

“Tell who, what?” You continued to fake innocence as you had the times before.

“It’s going to end badly.” She pushed again.

“It already did end badly.” You reminded her before trudging upstairs feeling the heat of her stare still on your back. Everyone except Kim was already there, including Jay who had his feet kicked up on his desk looking through a file. You greeted everyone draping your coat over the back of your chair and falling into it.

The first hour ticked by slowly, and you found your eyes moving across the room to focus on Jay. Opened documents lay across your desk. He looked so relaxed, shoulders loose, breaths slow and even, head resting against his palm as he fought not to fall asleep. You knew he would rather be out chasing suspects, but deep down you were starting to register you were okay with paperwork days. It meant he was safe, and that thought scared you a little. The last time you had those same thoughts you were staring at a different man in the room. A man who sat not too far behind Jay, clicking his pen absentmindedly as he often did when he was bored.

“Ruz, I’ll break the damn pen.” Kevin grumbled, as he had many times before in response to the habit.

“Sorry.” Adam mumbled, setting the utensil onto his desk away from his fidgety hands.

You chuckled at the small exchange, experiencing the exact same one many times in the years you had been detailed in intelligence with the best people you could’ve ever asked to work with. That certainly didn’t mean it wasn’t complicated though, and you were the very obvious example of that. You watched Jay’s head bob catching himself before adjusting in order to keep himself awake. His eyes accidentally met yours, heart rate immediately increasing. He sent you a small smile as his eyes started to roam over your body. Looking for a distraction from the tedious work. You couldn’t scold him. It wasn’t like you hadn’t been doing the same thing the past 10 minutes. Looking at his arms that were tight against his sleeves you wondered if the scratch marks you left on his biceps this morning would still be prevalent, or if the fading hickey from nights prior was still noticeable on his hip bone.

“I need coffee. Anyone else?” You asked trying to divert the obvious eye fucking your were giving each other. Everyone in the room raising their hands. You laughed taking notice of all the tired eyes who so obviously wanted to bash their heads off the desk already bored out of their minds, just waiting for a case to jump off.

“I’ll help.” Jay offered, voice gruff from barely speaking all morning. Together you poured and distributed everyone cups. Sitting back down into your chair when Jay was handing Kev his.

“You gonna shave that thing anytime soon? You usually can’t stand it past a week.” Kevin asked Jay, referring to his beard. They had always teased him whenever he claimed it grew in patchy compared to Adam and Kevin’s and it usually resulted in him having a clean shaven face the next shift. But it had grown in quite nicely this time, and he made sure to keep it presentable by trimming it as needed.

“No, it’s starting to grow on me. I’m keeping it for research anyway. Seems it can enhance far more than just my facial features.” Jay shrugged casually sitting back down atin his chair, and at his words you choked on your coffee spitting it all over your desk. Uncontrollable coughs tickling your throat.

“You good [Y/L/N]?” Hailey asked standing up to help you.

“Yeah..sorry. Just.. went down the wrong pipe. Didn’t expect it to be so.. hot.” You explained between coughs looking across the room to glare at Jay who wore a cocky smirk on his face, flipping through papers not daring to look up at you.

“You forget your ice?” Adam asked, knowing you had put a couple cubes of ice in your coffee every morning cooling it down so you could drink it faster.

“I must’ve. Kinda out of it today.” You shook your head taking napkins out of your drawer to try to clean up the mess you had made on your desk as well as your white shirt.

“I’ll get you some.” He started to walk towards the break room.

“It’s really okay I spit most of it out anyway.” You laughed.

“I’ll just get you a new cup.” He reasoned and you just thanked him not feeling like bickering with him about it. He had been going out of his way to do nice things for you recently. You assumed either so you wouldn’t spill the beans about him and Upton or because he felt bad.

“There’s no way this is coming out..” You grumbled dabbing at the tan stain forming on your shirt, “Do you happen to have a spare?” You asked, turning towards Hailey.

“I’m sorry I don’t. I used my spare the other day after that shooting and haven’t brought another extra.” Hailey apologized. You waved her off thanking her anyway.

“There’s one in my locker.” Jay offered, “You’ll probably just have to tuck it in.” You thought for a moment, it probably wouldn’t look like a big deal. Just a friend helping out a friend.

“Okay. Thanks.” You nodded getting up to head to the locker room where Jay followed. “I know where your locker is.” You rolled your eyes.

“Yes, but you don’t know my combination nor are you very good at opening dial locks. Hence why you have a keypad one on yours.” Jay pointed out, spinning his combination. He was right. You could never open dial locks.

“Do you analyze everything I do?” You crossed your arms annoyed at how well he always seemed to know you.

“You’re an interesting person babe.” He smiled handing you the shirt as he kissed your forehead.

“Watch yourself. You don’t know who’s hiding in here.” You lectured, “this is your fault by the way.”

“I know. Total win-win situation.” Jay laughed, smiling brightly.

“You’re gonna be the death of me Jay Halstead.” You groaned, a small smile on your lips.

“What a way to go though, huh?” He quipped, giving you a quick kiss.

“Get out.” You pushed his chest.

“What? No free peep show? I offered you my shirt and everything.” He acted offended.

“They’re gonna start getting suspicious if we are in here any longer go.” He huffed at your reply giving in and leaving as you turned around to switch shirts. Jay’s scent immediately overwhelmed you as you slipped his shirt on. Causing your body to relax in turn at the familiar fragrance. Jay was right, you had to tuck the shirt into your jeans, otherwise it could’ve been a dress thanks to your large height difference. Turning to walk out of the locker room, you were met with Adam holding a new cup of coffee out to you making you jump at the unexpected body in your path. “Thank you.” You giggled taking it from his hand to take a drink.

“Did you change?” He asked, eyeing the shirt you now wore.

“Oh yeah. I had white on and it was gonna stain so Jay offered me his shirt.” You explained, shifting on your feet at the uncomfortable conversation.

“Well I have one. It might fit you better.” He offered moving to walk towards his locker, but you put a hand to his chest stopping him.

“I’m good this one is perfectly fine.” You reassured him, Adam stared at you, breaking the tense silence with a long sigh, leaning against the side of the lockers.

“Listen we never got to talk about that night you came to my apartment. I just wanted to say I’m really sorry you-“ He began to apologize when Kevin peeked his head in the door.

“Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt..” he looked between the two of you awkwardly, “but we just got a case.” Adam cleared his throat as you nodded,

“We can..finish this later.” You chewed on your lip pushing past him to grab your coat out of Kevin’s hand.

It was nearing 8 o’clock by the time Voight had given you guys permission to go home and get some sleep. Knowing you’d be returning bright and early in the morning to continue to case.

“What do you think about pizza tonight? I’ve been craving some Bartolis.” Jay asked walking down the stairs behind you.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” You stopped turning to face him when you rounded the corner out of sight.

“Well I can just get pizza and I’ll stop for whatever else you want too.” He offered.

“I’m not talking about food, Jay.” You laughed, looking at the ground. Your mind had been racing since showing up with Jay this morning.

“Then..what are you talking about?” He asked, stepping closer towards you.

“I mean I don’t know I’ve been at your place almost every night the last couple weeks.” You whispered, hoping your voice wouldn’t carry to anyone nearby.

“Well we can go to your place. That’s fine.” He reasoned.

“No that’s not..” You sighed not able to find the words.

“Hey, just talk to me. What’s up.” He encouraged hands falling to your hips holding you gently.

“I’m just worried we’re starting to get careless. Showing up to work twice in one week together. One of these days we’re bound to get caught either coming in together or showing up on scene together. We don’t even know what this is. I don’t want to have to talk to Voight about it in the meantime.” You explained.

“We can be more careful. I promise. I just don’t want you to freak out about this.” He assured you tucking your hair behind your ear. “Can we just address how good you look in my shirt. I’m so glad you’re such a klutz..” Jay’s eyes roamed up and down your body.

“I am not a klutz! How did you expect me to react?” You crossed your arms, glaring at him as you did a few hours prior.

“Well is it not the truth? This thing is still on my face purely for your satisfaction.” He reminded you by trailing his lips down your neck, immediately summoning goosebumps from the raggedness tickling in the wake of his lips. He winked knowing his point was proven, moving up to place a soft kiss on your lips. “Sooo pizza?” He asked, pulling back, hopeful look on his face.

“Fine, but I’m not going in to get it.” You rolled your eyes, a bright smile on your face when he wrapped an arm around your shoulders pulling you towards his truck but when you rounded the corner your eyes connected with Adam’s who stood near the door, eyes wide between you two as Jay let his arm fall to his side, your feet rooted to the floor.

“I forgot my wallet in my locker.” Adam explained stammering over his words.

“Well don’t let us keep you. See you tomorrow brother.” Jay remained calm grabbing your arm to pull you out. Patting Adam on the shoulder when you passed.

“Shit!” You cursed when you reached Jay’s truck.

“What?” He questioned and you looked at him dumbfounded.

“You’re fucking kidding me right?” You scoffed.

“He’s not gonna tell Voight. For starters it’s Adam. Plus we know about him and Hailey. He can’t.” He shrugged.

“That’s not what I’m worried about!” You yelled.

“You just said that’s what you were worried about.” Jay reminded you, trying to catch up. “Babe.” He urged when you didn’t answer him.

“You don’t get it Jay!” You shook your head, lump forming in your throat at the anxiety the situation presented.

“No, you’re right I don’t. I’m sorry. Help me understand.” He grabbed a hold of your hand trying to get you to face him.

“Not right now.” You chewed your lip feeling a few tears fall down your cheeks, quickly swiping them away before they were seen, but you knew Jay would know regardless. You were tired, hungry, and now slightly panicking at the thought of having to address the entire situation. His hand squeezed yours tighter before starting his truck putting it in drive.

All Tag List:

@corebore123 @scarletsoldierrr @hehurst23 @beautiful-bunny89 @ingie @halsteadsway @malrunaway @grettiwrites @inlovewith3

Jay Taglist:

@jayxhalsteadx @life-treatments @weepingfestivalmentality @toomuchtv95 @queen-of-arda

[archived-kin]

one thousand and one nights with you (is not enough to spend)

note from kin: the title is from that song in twisted by starkid, but that’s about as far as the similarity goes

anyway you’re visionless and basically run a little witch shop in mondstadt, with flowers and cool gemstones and mysterious powders and potions and stuff. albedo gets a lot of his alchemy ingredients from you (also he’s dating you but not a lot of people know that)

fandom: genshin impact

character(s): gn! reader, albedo, plus a surprise venti cameo

pairing(s): albedo/reader

warning(s): i don’t know albedo that well so he might be ooc? also this is so cheesy it’s a little ridiculous

genre: fluff

“I’ll be going now, boss!”

You smile and return your assistant’s cheery goodbye wave as he disappears off into the night outside, freshly-filled coin pouch jingling at his hip. As the door swings shut with quiet click, your surroundings fall into quietude.

The candles keeping the room lit are beginning to burn down to stumps, throwing most of your shelves into shadow. You take a sip from the steaming cup sitting on your counter, then stand up to begin taking inventory and closing up shop.

The silence is comforting after such a long day. You’re not entirely sure what brought on the sudden increase in customers, given that your shop is tucked away in a quiet little corner of Mondstadt that not many tend to linger around. That had been a deliberate choice, and so was the lack of advertising - your speciality is the individual, not the crowd.

Still, you can’t say that it isn’t nice to have the increased income. More profit means better wages for your assisstant - and more Mora to buy even more cool things to stock.

You pass about an hour ambling around your shop, rearranging your products and making sure that everything is in order. Then, just as the bat-shaped clock on the wall chimes one o’clock, the bell above the front door jingles, and you hear quiet footsteps enter.

You don’t pay it any mind at first, instead focusing on rearranging the little bottles of various dusts and extracts on one of the ingredients shelves. A hand settles on the small of your back, and you feel the new arrival’s presence come to a stop beside you.

“We’re out of powdered lizard tail,” You say without looking at him.

A pause. Then a quiet chuckle. “That’s how you want to start the night?”

You smirk. “The night started a good while ago, darling.”

Albedo sighs as you turn to face him, though his soft smile betrays his faux-exasperation. “I did tell you I’d be late today.”

“You tell me that you’ll be late every day,” You reply, sliding one final bottle of powdered crystalfly into place, then move over to sit on your front counter. He follows, settling just beside you.

“I have a lot of things that need attending to,” He shrugs, leaning over and snatching your drink without asking. You shake your head, but let him take a sip from it anyway.

His eyes flicker up to look at you over the rim of the mug. “...though, of course, you’re the most important one.”

You laugh and bat at his shoulder. He doesn’t make any effort to avoid it, eyes twinkling as you smile. “Why not come round more often if I’m so important, huh?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t if I could?” He asks with a scoff, setting down the mug and gently nudging you in the side. “We both have jobs, [Name]. We need to actually do them.”

“Oh, I know that,” You return his nudge and hop down from the counter again. Albedo sighs a little at your restlessness, but follows as you swipe the keys from your drawer and open the door again. “But it doesn’t hurt to take a day off every now and then.”

“I’ve already taken far more in the last month than is reasonable,” Albedo says with a shake of his head, stepping out into the street at your indication and waiting as you shut and lock the door. “Grandmaster Jean will get suspicious.”

“Psh,” You dismiss, waving a whimsical hand about and nearly knocking the sign off of your door. “Why is it that you’re not telling her about us, again?”

“She doesn’t exactly like you,” He says, absently linking his hand with yours as the two of you begin walking aimlessly in no direction in particular. He’s removed his gloves, you notice. “You did set up shop without permission when you first got here.”

“Ah, right…” Now that you think about it, you seem to remember her shooting you a rather nasty look when you passed her in the street last week. Why she continues to hold a grudge is lost on you - after all, you did get the necessary documentation and everything eventually… though, to be fair, the method you used wasn’t exactly legal. “...well, forget her.  What do you want to do tonight?”

“Hmm,” He swings your linked hands about for a moment. “I saw a lot of dandelions growing just outside the walls earlier. Why don’t we go pick some seeds?”

“If you want to pick dandelion seeds, why not ask Sucrose?” You ask as he begins leading you in the direction of the main gate. “She’s the one with the Anemo vision.”

“Sucrose?” Albedo repeats, turning his head to look at you. His irises almost seem to glow in the darkness of the night, brighter than any of the stars above - it’d be unsettling if it wasn’t so beautiful. “Why would I want to go seed-picking with her?”

You raise an eyebrow. “...well, I’m assuming you need them for an experiment, and Anemo-blown sunflower seeds are always far more effective in that area.”

“If I needed them for an experiment, I’d just buy them from your shop,” He shakes his head. “This isn’t an ingredient hunt. This is different - it’s special.”

“Special how?” You question as the two of you walk through the gate. Albedo guides you over to a particularly thick cluster of dandelions just a few feet away, nestled in a lush copse of grass.

“Special… like you.” He cups both his hands around one of yours, the one that he’d been holding just before, and guides it over to one of the tallest plants. “Go on, show me that trick again.”

You laugh a little at his almost childish inflection, but do as he requests anyway. Albedo pulls his hands away from yours and watches as you carefully pluck off the head of the dandelion without disturbing any of its fluff-topped seeds, allowing it to rest on the tips of your fingers.

“There’s no trick to having a delicate hand,” You say as he watches your every move with the utmost concentration. “It just takes practice.”

Carefully securing the little bit of stem left at the bottom of the dandelion head between your index finger and thumb, you slowly raise your hand so that it’s suspended just above Albedo; he ducks his head a little, closing his eyes as you bring up your other hand to ever-so-gently flick the seeds from the head. The seeds drift about in the still night air for a brief moment before landing in Albedo’s blonde hair; their white colour is barely distinguishable against it.

He opens his eyes again as you pull your hands down again, lifting his head slowly so as not to disturb the little decorations you’ve added to it. “...so what did you grant me this time?”

“A good night’s sleep,” You say playfully. “As the seeds are carried away on the wind, so too will all your worldly burdens be blown away.”

He shakes his head, and several seeds are dislodged by the motion, vanishing quickly into the night. “If only it were that easy.”

“Hey, it worked last time,” You counter, sitting down in the grass. Albedo follows suit, reaching out and plucking a dandelion of his own - though with a lot less deftness than you did.

“That wasn’t the dandelions,” He says plainly, blowing lightly on the dandelion and watching the fluff disperse and disappear into the dark. “I just sleep more soundly when you’re beside me.”

You chuckle. “Sweet talker. So you’d sleep like a baby if I was around all the time, then?”

“Perhaps I would half the time,” He answers, smiling in a way that tells you that he knows exactly how sappy what he’s about to say is. “But I wouldn’t sleep nearly as well for the other half. I’d be too busy looking at you.”

Despite already knowing that it was coming, you can’t help but feel your heart flutter slightly at his proclamation. “I could say the same about. Bet you’ve broken a good few hearts with looks like that.”

“Then so be it,” He shrugs, eye-lids falling a little as he gives you a devilish little smirk. “Yours is the only one I care about.”

“When did you get so charming?” You flick him in the nose, effectively wiping off the smug look on his face. “Have you been studying love poems or something?”

“Love poems aren’t really my area,” He says, drawing back and rubbing at his nose a little reproachfully. “But Lisa and Kaeya have been giving me plenty of tips on my… 'romantic endeavours’, as they say.”

“Those two…” You shake your head. Kaeya and Lisa managed to find about your relationship with Albedo almost as soon as he’d confessed to you, though luckily they’d agreed to try not to mention it around Jean. “Have those tips been working?”

“Isn’t that a question for you to answer?” He picks another dandelion and blows it directly at you. “Is your heart being stirred?”

“Not while you’re blowing seeds into my face, it isn’t,” You shield yourself with one hand, pushing it in front of Albedo’s face to obscure his field of vision. “Quit it!”

He does drop the dandelion at your request, but, unusually, doesn’t give you a verbal response. You’re just thinking that he must be planning something when he suddenly leans forward and kisses the centre of your palm.

You immediately pull your hand back, feeling yourself heat up. Albedo leans forward, cocking his head to the side with a smile. “What about now?”

“You’re insufferable,” is your only reply.

Albedo’s smile turns into another smirk. He knows exactly what he’s doing. “I’m yours.”

“Mine, now? How nice,” You say, still trying to act unbothered. You can tell it isn’t working, though.  “Am I allowed to get a refund if you don’t work as expected?”

“Would you ever want to return me?” Albedo counters. You can’t exactly say yes - that’s both mean and untrue -  so you just sigh and shake your head. He smiles, clearly pleased.

You’re about to say something else when you hear a series of uneven footsteps coming from the gate. It doesn’t sound like a Knight of Favonius on patrol - in fact, it sounds more like a drunkard.

Albedo shuffles a little closer to you as a figure stumbles out of the gates. It’s someone you vaguely recognise by their green clothes - the bard who often plays in front of the statue of Barbatos. He’s holding a bottle that’s already half-empty, and you have a feeling that he’s already had a lot more before it.

The bard looks over at you and Albedo, and while you doubt he can recognise your faces what with both the darkness and the distance, it’s obvious enough that the two of you aren’t just a pair of good buddies hanging out. He raises the bottle in your direction with a hiccup.

“Wonderful night to meet a lover!” He calls, voice ringing so loudly that you’re sure that he just woke up a few residents of the city. “May your relationship last long as the wind blows!”

He doesn’t wait for a response before beginning to stumble his way across the bridge. As he goes, he exclaims to no one in particular, “The air is crisp tonight! Such good wine - what a wonderful city!”

He quickly disappears into the darkness. You exchange looks with Albedo. “...how much do you think he drank?”

“Far too much,” He replies amusedly. “He’ll regret it come morning.”

“And it isn’t too far off now,” You say, checking your pocket watch. “Will you be heading back to headquarters tonight?”

He considers, then shakes his head. “I don’t have anything that’ll need attention tomorrow morning. So, if you’ll have me…”

He doesn’t finish, but you already know what he’s asking. “There’s always room for you to stay over - you should know that by now, shouldn’t you?”

He smiles a little bashfully at that, and nods. “I suppose so… thank you.”

“You might as well move in at this point,” You comment, shifting slightly on the spot and patting at his arm. He holds his hand out obligingly, and you thread your fingers through his. “You’ve left at least three sets of pyjamas over already.”

Albedo opens his mouth to respond, and you shake your head, placing the index finger of your free hand to his lips to shush him. “Yeah, yeah, I got it, Grandmaster Jean’ll get suspicious…”

He blows on your finger to get you to retract it. When that doesn’t work, he pretends to bite at it, which is a lot more effective. “...I will tell her eventually. Just not now.”

“While you’re on the rocks,” You say with a nod, squeezing his hand. He sighs and nods as well. “But I still don’t think she’d fire you over who you’re dating.”

“Maybe not, but I don’t want to get any more on her bad side,” He mumbles. “She’s still annoyed about that floor I melted.”

“Didn’t you tell her that I was the one who made you drop the potion?” You ask, thinking back to that particular day - when you’d learnt that Albedo is very susceptible to your flirting when he’s in the middle of an experiment.

He shakes his head with a chuckle. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate me tattling. Besides, it isn’t like she punished me.”

“Well, you’re basically untouchable at the end of the day,” You comment, lying back in the grass and pulling Albedo with you. “It’s them who need you, not the other way around.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” He says, adjusting himself so that the two of you are pressed flush against each other. “If I hadn’t started working for them, we’d never have met.”

“We would have crossed paths eventually,” You say, smiling coyly when he turns his head to face you. “Though better sooner than later, I suppose.”

“Far better sooner,” He says, returning your smile with a much softer one. “I’m glad we did.”

Another dandelion seed drifts out of his hair and lands in the grass as you look at him. You'll be keeping this one for a long time, you decide. Probably forever. You like him.

You think he likes you, too.

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E127 (March 2, 2021)

Tonight’s guests are, of course, Ashley Johnson and Marisha Ray!

Marisha, on her thought process behind the date: “It was a fascinating study on designing something with another player in trying to navigating how to do that in a way that makes sense and wouldn’t be too metagamey or overly scripted or anything like that. I had a bunch of ideas thought out, then I just typed it out and sent it over to him, and then he interpreted it as such.” Liam had ideas, but Marisha wanted him to keep the details a surprise. The theme of “let’s start over” was the leading motif for the design. Three acts: pre-game cocktails at the Nestled Nook, picnic in a field of Xhorhasian wildflowers, and then close it with after-dinner drinks and hot tub at the Steam’s Respite. And the very last thing was “and all the cats were dogs”. Brian: “What was his response to that?” Marisha: “He texted me and was like, ‘Are you serious or is this dog thing a joke?’”

Ashley is asked what it was like to know it was coming but not know the specifics. “For both of us, I don’t think we thought it was going to be right then. I think because it’s been so long in the relationship between Beau and Yasha and it felt like such a natural progression for the two of them, and they’re both awkward together. I think there was something to just being thrown into it.” She spent time thinking about what things Yasha would talk to Beau about on a date. “We got to maybe one of them. It was just so fun! Exploring romance in D&D can be super weird, especially when you’re streaming. But it felt like that’s where our characters were going. There was that excitement of trying something that is out of my comfort zone, and I think so much of Marisha was part of that, as being the initiator as Beau, where I was like, okay, this is where it’s going it. Let’s do it, let’s see what happens!” She mentions how “fun and freeing” it is to trust your improv partner in something like this.

Marisha: “I just wanted Beau to be a fuckboi!” But she highlights that it’s hard to deny the deeper connections that come up in D&D scenarios. “They’ve been with each other through so much that it’s difficult to deny when those bonds start to happen.” She texted Liam in a panic before the game. “What do I wear? And he said, ‘In the game or in real life?’ Both!”

Marisha was expecting a Sam curveball at some point. “My/Beau’s reaction of ‘I love you!’ was pretty accurate. She does care! She’s not just  a troll trying to ruin our shit.”

Marisha on Yasha liking dogs: “I clocked that shit when you bought a dog figurine.” She keeps notes about all the members of the party when they reveal things like that.

Ashley has started taking more detailed notes, partly to play catch-up for events she may have missed earlier. “Turns out, notes are very helpful and can help you in your RPing!”

Favorite parts? Marisha: “The fade-to-black moment at the very end, and I think it’s because Ashley’s eyes--maybe this is going to get weird--we had this moment where we were in the hot tub at the end, and I looked over and was like, ‘hey’, and you looked over and were like, ‘hey’, and I was just dead. I will never forget the look on Ashley’s face. There was just a pure moment.” Ashley: “That’s so funny, because I was going to talk about this one moment with Marisha. It’s just clicking into the scene and clicking into the moment.” Marisha talks about how the moments associated with the game have real, tangible emotional connections. Brian highlights that the emotional side of things is what you remember the most after the campaign is done.

Character thoughts on Kima? Marisha: “I was like, step on me! Please! Both of you! We’d be friends.” Ashley: “It’s also that nostalgia that feels so good at the table. These characters we know and love are still living and breathing and happy together and just kicking ass. For Yasha it was an amazing example of a relationship that works in this world, and something beautiful that these people who are different but are connecting. It was a lot of-- it was cool. I think Yasha’s a very big fan of Kima and Allura. When she gave over the sword, Travis texted me and was like, it’s the Holy Avenger. Looking it up and talking about it, it was like, holy mackerel, this sword is insane. But there’s going to have to be some conversations had to attune with the sword. But I like that Matt presented that challenge, that this isn’t necessarily in your class, but let’s do some RP and see what happens.”

Where’s Yasha at with the Stormlord right now? “I’m curious to explore that more, but knowing that the Stormlord was the first person to bring her back to her own will, of pulling her out of whatever was happening with Oban and the Laughing Hand for however long. It’s also weird to see the relationship that the clerics have, and I think Yasha’s still figuring out how to be her own person, but also... not serving somebody, but still trying to figure out that relationship with her god. But again, he saved her from a very, very dark place, and I think that’s something she values and holds on to.”

Cosplay of the Week: An amazing Essek! (Blushingvioletcosplay on Instagram)

How is Beau handling the Eyes? “All the theories! It’s hard for it to not feel like a ticking time bomb. I always have to try and separate my theories from Beau’s theories. That’s acting and shit. I, Marisha, am very interested if I can somehow utilize this to our advantage. Beau, also interested but simultaneously terrified that it might be a bad idea and I might just get further initiated. When it comes to Matt, you know there’s always something more lurking underneath all of this. As players it’s kind of our job to navigate that.”

How about Yasha? “I think it’s one of the things that didn’t really come up in the date, which is funny, because it’s something I was thinking about. Me as a player, that’s something I’m extremely stressed about. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We kind of got into it, but I think the fact that Lucien was listening, and the Eyes, I think it made me as a player as Yasha very nervous about interacting with Beau, because I don’t know what they’re picking up on. There’s so much we don’t know, and Lucien is so confusing, and the Eyes, and with Matt... we don’t know! It’s a point of extreme concern for Yasha, especially someone that she has feelings for and cares about, it’s an extra level of I don’t know what this means and I can’t lose this person, but I need to protect at all costs.”

What was it like for Beau to discover that Dairon and the Soul not only listened but took action? “That moment was so deeply powerful. Honestly, I was just as taken aback as Beau was. I never in both mine or Beau’s thought process did I think Matt would take action in that way, or that would ever be handled. And I think that’s what makes it so emotional. You condition yourself to think these things just happen, so much so that they permeate your D&D game. So rarely do abusers get held accountable for their actions. What was powerful about it was that he was, and other people cared. That alone was so emotionally impactful, and I was completely thrown by it. I feel like I had to walk away from that situation kind of unpacking those things. What does that say, what does that mean? Same thing for Beau, where the cycle of abuse has happened repeatedly to her with no repercussions to anyone who’s causing it. It’s why she’s always had a weird tenuous relationship with the Soul. It throws you into these layers of reconciliation and thought. I didn’t think this was going to be addressed. What does that say about society? So many different layers to peel back. It all speaks to so many real-life experiences that happen every damn day to so many people. There’s not many examples in media of abusers getting handled, and especially not in a way that’s not some sort of device to motivate somebody.” She highlights how rare it is that the abuser was handled without pulling the victim into the mess. I’m definitely not doing what she’s saying justice with my speed-typing.

How is Yasha feeling about solidifying her identity as a protector? “Putting together this character and starting to play as her, there was a part of me that wanted-- when I work on characters, you go through the list of questions you have as an actor, what’s your motivation and all that stuff. But I very much wanted to see if I could have a character that doesn’t necessarily know what their purpose is, because I feel like a lot of people feel that way. I think when we see movies or TV shows, there’s always a character who says, I know what my purpose is. I wanted to explore what it meant to not know what that is. I left that open with Yasha, and I didn’t want to set that for her, because I thought that was an interesting thing. I still like that idea, but in the conversation with Beau and knowing the date was coming up, there were a lot of internal conversations I was having of how is Yasha feeling in this moment. At the end of the day, I feel that’s a very solid purpose for Yasha in this moment, of all I can really provide is protection - and of course she can provide more than that. But now I’m just, yeah, I think protection for her is the best way she knows how to describe her purpose.” Brian: “And once we arrive there, the goal is to find a greater purpose, to be of service.” Ashley has tied in Yasha’s protectiveness with her grappling with loss.

Fan art of the week: A second amazing Essek! (by Saturday_sky)

Thoughts on the amulets: set-up or bad luck? Ashley: “I thought they were a set-up!” Marisha: “I think [Astrid’s] an opportunist. But I think it’d be much more convenient if anyone other than her killed Trent. To what end, I don’t know.” Ashley: “Me, personally, how I interpreted her crying in that alleyway, I felt like she was crying because of a betrayal. But I don’t know! I think she definitely cares for Caleb.” Marisha: “I also got betrayal tears. That felt like guilt-crying to me.” Brian: “I don’t like any of this.”

What prompted Beau going full assassin? “If they were to get in and out and I could have jumped over that tower without killing that guy, I would have.” She didn’t have a lot of options as a monk and not a rogue assassin, but needed a quick and quiet way to get him out of the way. “I went through so many ideas in my head. I thought of an idea to dump all of the ball bearings under him, then light fireworks” to try to get him to fall off the edge.

Is Yasha’s hope for Molly still alive? “Yes. I think that because Yasha has been on the other end of doing terrible things under someone else’s influence, she has a lot of forgiveness for people. At this point, of course, it’s hope that he’ll come back or have some type of recognition of his life as Molly. There’s a lot of questions. I don’t think she’ll ever give up on him.” The only moment of hesitation was when Lucien was cool with Gelidon leaving with Beau.

How are they feeling about their odds? Ashley: “I feel really great about the ideas that the group has to get out of tricky situations. This one I’m nervous about.” Marisha: “I agree. We have our little side player thread, minus Matt, and I don’t see how we’re getting out of this without some sort of compromise that’s not necessarily in our favor. I think we’re going to get out of it, but I don’t think we’re going to get out of it completely.”

Ashley didn’t tell Brian about the date after the episode ended, but wound up blurting it out right before he was about to watch the episode for Talks.

[whatisthiswritingthing]

Mushy Reunion - Alex Morgan & Charlie x Reader

Prompt: Definitely more Alex with Y/N and Charlie...maybe one where reader is away, and Charlie is really missing her and vice versa? Alex sets up some sort of surprise to see her while she’s away.

Notes: Set in the #sweaterthief universe. I also tweaked the prompt slightly.

As soon as Alex and Charlie entered the board room, the toddler took off towards the familiar group of soccer players. Plowing between legs, she tilted her chin up, searching for her favourite player, disappointed when she couldn’t be seen.

“What’s up goober?” Sonnett squatted down when she noticed the little girls excitement quickly leave.

“No Y/N,” Charlie pouted, dropping her chin to her chest and crossing her arms.

Alex joined the group, kneeling down to rub Charlies back.

“Remember sweetie, Y/N isn’t going to be here for a couple days.”

“Want Y/N!” Charlie stomped her foot, eyebrows creasing as her pout deepened.

Y/N would be joining the rest of the team in a few days, she was coming late because of a few different photo shoots and meetings with her sponsors.

“I know you do Charlie, but she can’t be here for a couple days, but then you get to see her the whole time at camp!” Alex tried to sooth. “I know you miss Y/N; she misses you too and can’t wait to see you. We can call her as soon as we go to our room.”

Charlie perked up at the prospect of getting to call Y/N.

“Hey favourite Morgan!” Aliie called as she approached. “And Alex.” She added on with a smirk.

Alex rolled her eyes at her friend. Allie came closer to the pair as Alex stood with Charlie in her arms.

“I’ve got a little surprise for you, favourite Morgan,” Allie continued to smirk, hiding her hands behind her back.

“Supwise?” Charlie questioned, lifting her head off Alex’s shoulder. Alex looked at the midfielder, not knowing about a surprised; Allie just winked.

“Yupp! Just for you! Ready?”

“I like supwise! Yes!” the toddler eagerly nodded her head.

Allie pulled a sweater from behind her back.

“Y/N wanted me to give you this,” Allie unfolded the sweater, showing Y/N’s number on the sleeve.

Alex tightened her grip to avoid dropping Charlie as she lunged forward for the sweater. As soon as she had it in her hands, Alex knelt down to help her put the sweater on. Charlie smiled, only her mouth and chubby cheeks  showing with the hood dipping over her eyes.

Alex had no idea that Y/N would be sending one of her sweaters with Allie in her place. She couldn’t help but feel the incredible amount of love she had for girlfriend. The simple action meant more to the small girl more than anyone could know.

“Let’s go to our room and we can give Y/N a call,” Alex slid the hood off Charlie’s head, only for the girl pull it back up, similar how Y/N wore hers  

Charlie eagerly nodded her head, hood flopping at the motion, taking off towards the elevator. The rest of the soccer players laughing at the excitement.

“I think it’s time to accept none of you will ever be the favourite,” Alex called over her shoulder, trailing behind her daughter.

Mother and daughter made their way to their room, Charlie bouncing up and down, unable to contain her excitement.

As soon as they made her way into the room, Charlie was reaching for Alex’s phone to call Y/N. Alex laughed, pulling Charlie to sit on the bed with her as she pulled out her phone to Facetime Y/N.

Alex could feel Charlie trembling in anticipation while they waited for Y/N to pick up the call.

“Hey guys!” Y/N greeted, large smile on her face.

“Look at my sweatah!” Charlie called out immediately, tugging the chest of the sweater up to show Y/N.

“Look at your sweater!” Y/N matched the toddlers enthusiasm. “That looks like one of mine.” she acted surprised., shooting Alex a sly wink.

“It is one of yours!” Charlie said, shoving the sleeve of the sweater into the camera for Y/N to see her own number.

“What do you say to Y/N for the sweater?” Alex prompted.

“Tank you!” Charlie snuggled her back into Alex. “When you come to camp?” she asked, cocking her head to one side.

“Not for a couple more days kiddo,” Y/N said softly. “But I’ll be there before you know it!” She attempted to cheer the little girl up who had quickly pouted.

Charlie huffed and flopped back more into Alex. Her disappointment at not seeing Y/N very apparent.

The three continued to talk until Alex needed to go down for a meeting; Y/N and Charlie dominating most of the conversation, Alex mostly sitting there watching the pair with a smile on her face.

For the remainder of the evening and most of the next day, Charlie remained quiet and surprisingly subdued for the normally energetic toddler. The other players all tried to bring her out of her funk, but Alex knew Y/N would be the only person able to cheer the toddler up. Charlie walked around the entire time in Y/N’s sweater, refusing to take it off at any point.

Y/N had done everything she could to try and switch her photo shoots, unfortunately with no luck. Alex did her best to try and cheer up both her girlfriend and daughter, each equally pouty about the extended separation.

With the time difference Y/N would stay up late to ensure she could read to Charlie before bed; Alex setting her iPad up on a pillow, letting Y/N softly read until Charlie would fall asleep.

“Come on pouty pants, you’re worse than the three year old,” Alex teased the second night.

“Am not!” Y/N argued back, brows furrowed and bottom lip protruding.

“Right, that was such a sound argument,” Alex just laughed. She found it adorable how connected the two were. It had been a concern when the two women had gotten together, that Y/N and Charlie wouldn’t mesh well, she had nothing to worry about at all. The two had immediately clicked, the pair all smiles and giggles every time they’re together.

Except now, this was the longest the two had been separated. It was expected that Charlie would be pouting this much, not understanding why Y/N wasn’t there. Alex however, had not anticipated having Y/N match the level of pouting the three year old was doing.

“I just miss her Al,” Y/N outright pouted this time, Alex cocking her eyebrow. “And you too,” She tried to amend. “I miss you too, like sex and your face and stuff. But I miss my little buddy. Being an adult suck.” Y/N full on huffed, flopping into the pillows of her bed.

“Thanks, I miss sex and your face and stuff too,” Alex rolled her eyes.

“You know what I mean,” Y/N rolled her eyes in return, too grumpy to defend herself.

“I know babe, you guys can have a big mushy reunion in a couple days,” the forward softened, “We’ll all go aw, it will be adorable, forget I exist, and go off and play.”

“You joke, but that is exactly how it’s going to go,” Y/N perked up.

“Thanks, love you too.”

“Now who’s pouting? Not my fault your kid is cooler than you,” Y/N teased.

“I’m going to bed now; you can pout on your own!”

“I love you!”

While Y/N was upset she didn’t get to see her two favourite people as soon as she wanted, she had worked out her schedule to arrive sooner than Alex knew. Pushing all her other commitments to be back to back, allowing her to get to camp two days earlier than anticipated.

It was hard to keep it to herself every time Charlie would ask when she was coming, bottom lip stuck out, head cocked to the side, looking all kinds of adorable. She knew the surprise would be worth it in the end though.

Y/N had an incredibly early morning flight, it would allow her to get to the hotel just after lunch. She had already talked to some of the staff to help time everything out right. Giving her time to see Alex and Charlie before they would have their afternoon film session.

The next afternoon, fresh from the airport, Y/N got the all clear from one of the staff that Alex and Charlie were distracted at the table. They opened the door and pointed out where they were seated, having made sure both would be facing away from the door.

Y/N slowly walked behind them, motioning at the players facing her to remain quite as she approached. All of them smirking while Alex was distracted by the grumpy toddler.

As Y/N got up behind Charlie, she gently flipped the hood of the sweater over her eyes.

“Hey!” Charlie squealed, fumbling with the hood while trying to turn in the chair at the same time.

The table erupted in laughter, Y/N smiling bright at seeing the two.

Alex helped Charlie removed the hood, holding on to her so she wouldn’t fall off the chair.

“Y/N!” Charlie yelled out excitedly when she saw who the culprit was. She immediately stood on the chair, jumping into Y/N’s waiting arms.

“Charlie!” Y/N caught the girl, tossing her into the air.

Once back down, Charlie snuggled into Y/N’s chest, small hands gripping her shirt as tight as she could. Y/N wrapped her arms around Charlie, pulling her in tight, squeezing her little body to her.

The entire table awed at the adorable reunion the two shared.

“Told you they would all aww,” Alex smirked, standing and wrapping an arm around Y/N’s waist.

Y/N unwrapped one arm from Charlie and pulled Alex in closer, leaning in to kiss her lips.

“You stay?” Charlie asked, pulling out slightly, placing both hands on Y/N’s cheeks to look her in the eyes.

“You bet I’m staying kiddo,” Y/N leaned in, blowing on Charlies neck, earning a loud squeal of laughter.

“Does this mean the two of you will stop pouting?” Allie called from across the table.

Y/N stuck her tongue out at the midfielder, Charlie quickly mimicking the action.